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OF  THE  WORLD 


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RICHARD    K.    FOX 


THE     LIFE    AND     BATTLES 


-OF- 


JACK  JOHNSON 

CHAMPION  PUGILIST  OF  THE  WORLD 


Togetlier    witli    tlie    Complete  Records  of"  Jolin   L.   Sullivan, 

J?mes  J.  Corliett,  Robert  Fitzsiniinons.  J;iiiies  ].  Jeffrie-j 

Tommy    Rums,    Peter   Jackson    ami    Jim    Flynn. 


RICHARD  K.   FOX   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

LRANKLIN  SCIHARB,  NFW  YORK  CITY. 


Copyright  1912 
BY  RICHARD   K.  FOX  PUBLISHING  COMPANV 


CONTENTS 


TAGK 


Johnson's  Career 9 

Burns-Johnson  Battle     -         -         -         -  39 

In  the  Ring- 41 

Battle  by  Rounds            -         -         -         -  43 

Battle  with  Jack  O'Brien     -         -         -  48 

Battle  with   Stanley   KetchcU         -  50 

Fight  by  Rounds          .         .         .         .  50 

Arranging  the  Fight       -         -         -         -  55 

Johnson-Jeffries  Battle         -         -         -  64 

Fight  by  Rounds 66 

Statistics  of  the  Battle          .         ,         .  73 

Johnson's  Record     -----  74 

Jeffries'  Record            -         .         .         -  76 

John  L.  Sullivan       -         -         -         -         -  77 

James  J.  Corbett           -         -         .         -  80 

Robert  Fitzsimmons         -         -         -         -  82 

Tommy  Burns     -          .         -         -         -  85 

Peter  Jackson            -         =         o         ^         -  87 

Jim  Flynn     ---'•-  28 


TOE   CHAMPION'S   SMILE. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Richard  K.  Fox          -----  2 

The  Chanipicju's  vSmilc           ...  6 

Jack  Johnson     ------  8 

Johnson  in  London        -         -         -         -  10 

Johnson  in  Training           -          -          -          -  12 

James  J.  Jeffries             -         -         -         -  14 

John  L.  Sullivan        -         -         -          -         -  16 

James  J.  Corbett              -         •         -         -  18 

Robert  Fitzsimmons            -          -         -         -  20 

Tommy  Burns         -         •          -         -         -  22 

Sam  Langford              -         -         -          -          -  24 

Joe  Jeannctte          -----  26 

Sam  McVey       - 2C 

Molineaux       ------  30 

Joe  Walcott -  32 

Joe  Gans -  34 

George  Dixon     ------  36 

Johnson's  Remarkable  Muscles      -         -  38 

Jeffries  Takes  Ilis  Time     -         -          -          -  4c 

Jeffries  in  Bad  Sliape      .         ....  42 

Tex  Rickard,  Fight  Promoter             -         -  44 


JACK  JOUNSON,  CHAJilPION  OF  THE  WORLD. 


JOHNSON'S    CAREER 

There  is  nothing  spectacular  about  the 
career  of  Jack  Johnson,  and  his  earlier  fight- 
ing" record  does  not  mark  the  champion.  As 
in  the  case  of  Peter  Jackson,  white  pugilists, 
in  many  cases,  have  drawn  the  color  line  on 
him.  Up  to  the  time  he  fought  Burns  he 
really  had  no  chance  to  show  what  he  could 
do.  But  that  battle  and  the  one  with  Ketchell 
gave  the  public  a  line  on  his  real  ability. 

He  began  his  career  in  1897,  when  he  beat 
S.  Smith  in  ten  rounds;  kiter  he  put  Jim 
Rocks  away  in  four  rounds.  In  1898  he 
knocked  out  Rcddy  Brcnicr  in  three  rounds, 
and  beat  jim  Cole  in  four.  Me  fought  a  fifteen 
round  draw  with  Henry  Smith.  He  went 
twelve  rounds  to  a  draw  in  1899  with  Pat 
Smith,  and  the  next  year  beat  Josh  Mills  in 
twelve  rounds,  and  KU)n(like  in  twenty  rounds. 

In    the  latter    part    of     1901     he    met    Joe 


JACK    JOHNSON    IN    f-ONPON. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON  1  1 

Choynski  in  his  home  town.  This  battle 
brought  his  name  before  the  publie  and  after 
winning  several  battles  in  the  Southwest  he 
was  taken  to  Chieag'o,  where  he  continued  to 
win  and  to  show  signs  of  cleverness.  In  that 
year  he  had  three  knockouts  to  his  credit,  as 
follows:  Charley  Brooks,  two  rounds;  Horace 
Miles,  three  rounds,  and  George  Lawler,  ten 
rounds.  This  showed  that  he  had  a  punch. 
The  next  year,  1902,  he  added  six  knockouts 
to  his  credit,  and  one  of  the  defeated  men  was 
Jack  Jeffries,  a  brother  of  the  then  champion, 
who  had  begun  to  show  promising  signs  as  a 
boxer,  but  he  only  lasted  five  rounds  with  the 
black  man. 

His  first  defeat  was  at  the  hands  of  the 
veteran  boxer,  Joe  Choynski,  with  whom  he 
was  matched  by  the  Galveston  Athletic  Club 
in  March,  1901.  He  was  outclassed  from  the 
start,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  a  man 
with  his  limited  experience.  He  did  very 
well,  however,  in  the  first  and  second  rounds, 
but  in  the  third  he  was  caught  on  the  jaw  with 


JACK  JOHNSON  IN  TBAININQ. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        I  .^ 

a  right  hook,  and  he  went  down  and  out.  Foi 
this  contest  both  men  were  arrested  at  the  in- 
stigation of  Gov.  Sayers,  and  held  in  ,*i5,ooo 
bail,  but  they  were  eventually  released. 

The  big  year  for  Johnson,  so  far  as  num- 
ber of  fights  engaged  in  was  concerned,  was 
1902,  when  he  was  one  of  the  principals  in  six- 
teen contests,  losing  not  one,  and  having  four 
draws.  This  was  the  year  that  he  met  Jack 
Jeffries,  brother  of  Jim,  and  played  with  him 
for  five  rounds  before  he  dropped  him  for  the 
count. 

Probably  his  hardest  battle  of  the  year  was 
on  October  31,  when  he  met  George  Gardiner, 
the  middleweight  champion  of  New  England, 
befcjrc  the  vSan  Francisco  Club  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal.,  and  he  surprised  the  people  at  the 
ringside  who  came  to  see  the  clever  New  Eng- 
lander  hang  another  scalp  on  his  belt.  John- 
son forced  the  fight  from  the  start,  and  kept 
up  the  pace  during  the  entire  twenty  rounds, 
winning  the  tlecision  with  plenty  to  spare. 
This   battle    brought   him    more  prominently 


JAMES   J.    JKFFRIES, 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         15 

before  the  public  than  all  of  his  previous  con- 
tests put  together. 

After  that  he  met  and  defeated  in  six 
rounds  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Fred  Russell, 
and  again  on  February  23,  1903,  he  outpointed 
Denver  Ed  ]\Iartin  in  twenty  rounds  in  the 
same  town. 

Sam  McVey,  who  is  at  present  cutting  a 
wide  swath  in  pugilistic  circles  in  Paris,  was 
Johnson's  next  opponent.  He  was  a  tough 
customer,  capable  of  taking  a  good  licking 
and  coming  back,  and  he  had  a  punch,  too. 
They  came  together  in  Los  Angeles,  (m  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1903,  and  the  bout  went  the  limit  of 
twenty  rounds,  but  from  the  first  the  issue 
was  never  in  doubt,  for  it  was  Johnson  all  the 
way.  The  man  who  is  now  champion  showed 
then  that  he  had  a  good  punch  in  either  hand, 
that  he  was  quick,  aggressive  and  resourceful. 
At  the  finish  the  decision  went  to  him,  and 
justly,  too. 

The  next  day  he  announced  that  he  was 
going  after  Jeffries,  for  he  wanted  a  chance 


JOHN    L.    SULLIVAN 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        17 

at  the  title  that  was  to  come  to  him  later  on. 
He  claimed  at  that  time  that  he  was  the  logi- 
cal opponent  for  the  big  fellow  and  he  was 
also  sure  that  he  could  beat  him.  But  the 
champion  evaded  him,  having  drawn  the  color 
line  since  he  met  Hank  Griffin  in  1901. 

Johnson  won  all  of  his  battles  during  the 
year  of  1903,  beating  the  rugged  McVey  twice. 

His  first  opponent  in  1904  was  Black  Bill, 
whom  he  met  in  a  six-round  exhibition  bout  in 
Philadelphia.  On  April  22,  in  San  Francisco, 
he  knocked  out  McVey  in  the  twentieth  round, 
putting  a  quietus  on  the  aspirations  of  that 
boxer  and  proving  conclusively  who  was  the 
master.  He  also  won  from  Frank  Childs  in 
Chicago  in  six  rounds,  and  finished  up  the 
year  by  knocking  out  Ed  Martin  in  Los 
Angeles  in  two  rounds. 

Marvin  Hart  gave  him  his  first  real  set- 
back, getting  the  decision  at  the  end  of  twenty 
rounds  in  San  Francisco  on  March  28,  1905. 
Hart  won,  however,  purely  on  his  aggressive- 
ness, as  at  the  end  of  the  fight  he  was  badly 


JAMES    J.    CORBETT 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         I9 

beaten  and  in  miserable  shape,  while  Johnson, 
on  the  other  hand,  showed  scarcely  a  mark. 
He  hit  cleaner,  he  showed  more  cleverness, 
and  he  would  have  won  easily  had  he  forced 
the  fighting  instead  of  allowing  Hart  to  set  the 
pace-. 

From  that  time  on  he  went  steadily  up,  his 
speed,  his  cleverness  and  his  ring  generalship 
increasing,  and  he  soon  began  to  be  recognized 
as  a  dangerous  factor  in  the  heavyweight 
division.  The  only  thing  that  kept  him  down 
was  his  color,  and  there  arc  plenty  of  sporting 
men  today  who  say  that  if  he  had  been  given 
his  chance  he  would  have  been  champion  long 
ago,  and  Tommy  Burns  would  have  been  in 
the  scrap  heap  with  the  rest  of  the  second 
raters.  The  only  man  of  his  own  color  capable 
of  competing  with  him  was  Joe  Jeannette. 
They  met  several  times,  but  no  one  who  ever 
saw  these  battles  had  any  doubt  but  that 
Jolmson  was  the  master  at  all  stages  of  the 
game  and  could  have  'lone  with  Jeannette  just 
ab  he  pleased. 


ROBERT     FITZSIMMONS 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        21 

The  fact  that  Johnson  beat  Sam  Langford 
in  Chelsea,  Mass.,  in  fifteen  rounds,  on  April 
26,  1906,  showed  his  class,  because  Langford  is 
and  always  has  been  a  dangerous  man  in  the 
ring  in  any  company,  as  a  glance  at  his  record 
will  show. 

At  Philadelphia  on  July  17,  1907,  he  knocked 
out  the  redoubtable  Fitzsimmons  in  two  rounds, 
and  the  same  year  he  put  away  Charley  Cutler 
in  one  round  and  Jim  Flynn  in  eleven. 

For  the  past  five  years  his  course  on  the 
pugilistic  ladder  has  been  steadily  iipward,  and 
he  has  come  into  his  own  at  last.  During  his 
long  chase  of  Tommy  Burns  he  expressed  the 
greatest  confidence  in  his  ability  to  put  away 
the  man  who  was  proclaiming  himself  the 
champion.  Time  and  time  again  he  said  he 
would  finish  the  battle,  if  ever  they  met,  inside 
of  fifteen  rounds,  and  those  who  have  seen  him 
box  anywhere,  and  not  prejudiced  against  him 
on  account  of  his  color,  were  convinced  that  he 
could  do  just  as  he  said. 

There  has  been  a  lot  of  talk  about  a  "yellow 


TOMMY  BURNS.  EX-CHAMPIOK 


MFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         23 

Streak  "  that  he  is  said  to  possess.  He  may 
have  it,  but  if  he  has  no  one  has  yet  found  it 
out,  so  there  is  no  use  in  nientioning  it  again. 

He  is  built  magnificently,  is  strong  as  a 
lion,  is  clever,  scientific,  and  carries  a  great 
punch  in  either  hand.  He  fought  for  a  small 
purse  because  he  knew  he  was  going  to  be  the 
champion  before  he  left  the  ring.  He  was 
convinced  that  he  was  the  best  man  and  so  he 
was  willing  to  fight  to  prove  it,  as  a  champion 
should. 

This  big  fellow  heads  the  list  of  famous 
negro  fighters,  beginning  with  Molineaux,  the 
giant  black  who  fought  Tom  Cribb  twice  for 
the  championship  of  England  in  the  early  part 
of  the  present  century;  and  when  you  come  to 
review  the  histories  of  the  two  men  they  are 
strangely  alike  in  everything  except  that 
Johnson  won  what  he  went  after.  Molineaux 
went  from  \'irginia,  alone  and  j)enniless,  to 
face  the  greatest  fighting  man  the  world  knew 
at  that  time.  He  wasn't  taken  seriously  at 
first,    but   after  one  or  two  hard  trvouts  the 


SAM   LANGFORDl 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    f)F    JACK    JOHNSON.       25 

sporting  men  of  England  became  convinced 
that  he  had  enough  of  the  fighter  in  him  to 
make  Cribb  step  a  bit.  They  were  matched 
and  the  battle  of  thirty-three  rounds  lasted 
fifty-five  minutes.  Though  he  was  compelled 
to  give  in,  Molineaux  gave  Cribb  a  fearful 
beating,  so  much  so  that  the  champion  had  to 
be  assisted  from  the  ring. 

The  second  battle  between  these  tw^o  at- 
tracted a  great  deal  of  attention  in  England, 
as  there  were  many  who  believed  that 
Molineaux  could  beat  the  champion.  But  in 
this  they  were  mistaken,  as  the  sturdy  negro 
lasted  but  eleven  rounds.  Here  is  what  a 
writer  of  the  day  had  to  say  about  it : 

"The  battle,  which  lasted  only  nineteen 
minutes  and  ten  seconds,  left  no  doubt  as  to 
the  superiority  of  Cribb.  The  science  of 
Molineau  at  the  opening  of  the  fight  was  quite 
equal  to  that  of  the  champion,  but  the  con- 
dition of  Cribb  was  far  better,  his  temper  more 
under  control,  and  although  there  was  no 
question    as   to   Molineaux's   courage,    which 


JOE  JEANNETXa 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        27 

almost  amounted  to  ferocity,  Cribb  was  his 
superior  in  steadiness  and  self-possession." 

Jack  Johnson,  born  in  Galveston,  Texas,  on 
March  31,  1878,  is  now  the  heavyweight  pugi- 
listic champion  of  the  world,  and  from  all  in- 
dications is  likely  to  remain  so  for  some  time 
to  come.  He  becomes  a  notable  figure  in  more 
ways  than  one  and  is  the  first  negro  boxer  to 
gain  the  coveted  title. 

Never  has  any  other  boxer  the  world  over 
shown  such  persistency  in  following  up  a 
champion  as  Johnson  did  when  he  first  made 
up  his  mind  to  go  after  Tommy  Burns.  He 
would  scarcely  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
meeting  with  the  elusive  French-Canadian, 
however,  had  it  not  been  for  Sam  Fitzpatrick, 
veteran  boxer  and  manager,  who  took  the  black 
man  under  his  wing  and  literally  chased  Burns 
almost  around  the  world.  Negotiations  were 
first  begun  in  America,  but  nothing  came  of 
them,  and  Burns  went  to  England  to  gather 
what  eas)'  money  was  in  sight  in  that  country. 
When  Burns  became  the  idol  of  the    English 


SAM  McVEY, 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.       29 

and  Irish  sport-loving  public  by  his  decisive 
victories  over  their  best  men,  Fitzpatrick 
made  another  move  in  his  campaign  by  going 
to  England  and  trying  to  force  Burns  into  a 
match.  The  demands  that  the  champion  made 
for  his  end  of  the  purse,  win,  lose  or  draw, 
were  considered  unfair,  and  Burns  lost  much 
of  the  good  wishes  of  the  public  by  the  severe 
criticism  of  the  British  press. 

Many  thought  that  the  next  move  in  Burns' 
campaign  of  evasion  would  end  matters  and 
that  Fitzpatrick  would  never  get  for  his  negro 
boxer  the  chance  for  the  title.  This  was  when 
Burns  set  sail  for  Australia  from  England,  a 
point  that  seemed  too  far  off  for  the  other 
combination,  whose  funds  were  being  fast  used 
up  in  their  pursuit. 

Fitzpatrick  and  Johnson,  however,  did  not 
give  up  the  chase,  for  they  had  the  word  of 
Biirns  that  lie  would  fight  when  his  demands 
were  acceded  to.  Over  in  the  Antipodes  the 
champion  was  finally  cornered,  for  a  promoter, 
Hugh  Mcintosh,  was  found  who  was  willing  to 


MULI^'EAUX,  WHO  rOU«HT  TOM  CUIBB  liS  1810, 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         31 

guarantee  Burns  $30,000,  no  matter  what  the 
outcome,  and  Johnson  was  only  too  willing  to 
accept  $5,000  as  his  end.  Mcintosh,  who  is  a 
man  little  more  than  thirty  years  old,  showed 
great  nerve  in  arranging  all  the  details,  as  he 
stood  to  lose  a  vast  amount  if  the  interest  did 
not  prove  enormous. 

One  of  the  big  initial  items  of  expense  was 
the  building  of  a  stadium  at  Rushcutter's  Bay, 
capable  of  holding  twenty  thousand  persons, 
at  a  cost  of  .^i 0,000.  The  advance  sale  of 
seats,  however,  for  nearly  a  month  before  the 
scheduled  date  assured  the  success  from  a 
financial  standpoint.  Seats  sold  as  high  as 
$50,  and  the  cheapest  bench  to  be  had  cost  $5. 

No  event  in  a  generation  aroused  the 
Australians  as  did  this  fight.  An  association 
of  clergymen  made  an  effort  to  have  the  mill 
stopped,  but  their  attempt  proved  unavailing 
against  the  outburst  of  i)o|)ular  enthusiasm. 
The  Premier  of  Australia,  liimsclf  an  old-time 
athlete,  was  just  as  mucli  interested  in  the 
combat  as  the  ordinary  "  bushwhacker,"  and 


JOE  WALCOTT 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         SS 

many  of  the  leading-  business  men  and  those 
identified  with  the  government  showed  their 
eagerness  to  see  the  battle  by  their  purchase 
of  choice  seats  long  before  the  date  set. 

In  place  of  the  jibing  criticisms  that  were 
meted  out  to  Mcintosh  because  of  what  the 
Australians  thought  was  foolhardiness,  there 
is  nothing  now  on  the  island  continent  but 
words  of  praise. 

Rumors  of  all  kinds  were  rife  that  the  fight 
would  be  "fixed"  and  that  Johnson  would  be 
bought  off.  When  it  was  said  that  Bums  had 
wagered  $10,000  on  his  chances  many  ot  the 
"  wise  "  sport  followers  were  further  convinc  xl 
that  Burns  had  been  up  to  some  more  craft) 
tricks.  That  the  battle  was  to  be  strictly  on 
the  level  was  asserted  by  Mcintosh  in  the  fol- 
lowing  cablegram   over   his   own    signature  : 

"The  fight  will  be  absolutely  on  the  level. 
You  can  bet  on  it  with  confidence.  Johnson 
would  not  have  chased  Burns  for  nearly  twelve 
thousand  miles  to  get  a  match  and  then  throw 
it,    while    Burns   would  not    '  lay   down '  to  a 


JOE   GANS. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.       35 

negro.  The  earning  capacity  of  either  of 
these  men  in  the  event  of  victory  would  be 
greater  than  by  indulging  in  a  fake.  So  take 
it  from  me  that  the  mill  will  be  decided  on 
its  merits." 

Now  that  Fitzpairick's  campaign  in  follow- 
ing Burns  to  the  other  side  of  the  world  with 
his  negro  challenger  has  ended  in  success  he 
will  be  hailed  as  one  of  the  shrewdest  handlers 
of  fighters  in  the  history  of  the  ring.  Fitz- 
patrick  had  Peter  Jackson  when  that  negro 
was  the  most  feared  heavyweight  in  the  game. 

Corbett  was  the  only  champion  aspirant 
who  had  nerve  enough  to  face  Jackson,  and 
even  Jim  "passed  up"  Peter  after  their 
famous  "no  contest"  at  San  Francisco.  Sul- 
livan drew  the  color  line  on  Jackson,  and 
F'itzimmons  was  frank  enough  to  admit  that 
he  wanted  none  of  Jackson's  game.  Jackson 
failed  to  take  care  of  himself  and  was  down 
ard  out  when   Jim   Jeffries  whipped   him. 

Fitzpatrick  also  handled  (ieorge  Lavigne, 
when  he  was  the  lightweight  champion. 


GEORGE   DIXON. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         37 

The  Johnson-Burns  match  was  the  first 
heavyweight  championship  battle  staged  out- 
side of  the  United  States  in  years.  John  L. 
Sullivan  won  the  title  from  Paddy  Ryan  at 
Mississippi  City  nearly  thirty  years  ago,  and 
James  J.  Corbett  beat  Sullivan  in  New  Orleans. 
Bob  Fitzsimmons  whipped  Corbett  in  Carson 
City,  Nev. ,  and  James  J.  Jeffries  defeated 
Fitzsimmons  at  Coney  Island. 

Burns  whipped  O'Brien  at  Los  Angeles 
and  defeated  Bill  Squires,  the  champion  of 
Australia,  in  San  Francisco.  Then  he  went 
to  England  and  beat  Gunner  ]\Ioir,  the  cham- 
pion of  England,  in  London.  He  also  van- 
cpiished  Jem  Roche,  the  champion  of  Ireland, 
in  Dublin. 

Sullivan  fought  only  one  battle  abroad  while 
he  was  champion,  his  memorable  contest  with 
Charlie  Mitchell  in  Chantilly,  France.  It 
was  a  draw.  Jackson  whipped  Slavin  in  Lon- 
don for  the  championship  of  England  and 
Australia. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.       39 

BURNS-JOHNSON    BATTLE. 

The  fight  was  scheduled  to  take  place  at 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning' of  Deceiiiber  26, 
1908,  and  so  great  was  the  excitement  and  the 
desire  of  the  Australians  to  see  it  that  hundreds 
came  from  the  outer  districts  the  night  before 
and  slept  in  the  open  in  order  to  be  on  hand  in 
the  morning.  One  hour  before  the  bell  was  to 
be  rung  for  the  contest  every  seat  was  taken  by 
a  crowd  estimated  at  between  eighteen  and 
twenty  thousand  persons,  who  had  paid  into 
the  box  office  a  sum  estimated  at  from  $150,- 
000  to  $175,000. 

Statistics  of  the  Fighters. 

Here  are  the  weights  and  dimensions  of 
the  men  when  they  went  into  the  ring: 

Burns.  Johnson. 

27  yeiirs .\'4e 30  years 

5  ft.  7>i  in Height 6  I'l.  l?i  in. 

176  poiiniifi Weislit 196  pounds 

74^^  in Reach 72X  in. 

12  in Foreiirna  13  in. 

13Ji  In Biceps 14>^  in. 

16  in Neck 17  in. 

40Ji  in Chest 43Ji  In. 

32>^  in Waist 33  In. 

38  ii   Hips 37  in. 

23;.) Thigh  22^  in. 

i5}i  in Calf  16  Id. 


JEFF   TAKES    HIS   TIME   GETTING    UP. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSIJN.       4I 

IN  THE  RING. 

At  10.42  a.  m.  Johnson  entered  the  arena, 
accompanied  by  his  seconds,  vSain  Fitzpatrick, 
Miillins,  Unholz,  Lang  and  Bryant.  Wild 
cheers  greeted  him,  and  the  big  black  man 
turned  and  bowed  to  all  four  sides  of  the  ring. 

Jtist  as  Johnson  took  his  seat  Burns  ap- 
peared. He  was  smiling  and  the  plaudits  of 
the  spectators  were  even  more  enthusiastic 
than  those  accorded  Johnson.  Burns  took  up 
his  position  in  the  western  corner  of  the  ring, 
surrounded  by  his  seconds,  Keating,  O'Keefe, 
O'Donnell,  Burke  and  Russell. 

When  the  cheering  had  died  down  some- 
what Johnson  crossed  over  and  shook  Burns 
by  the  hand.  The  Canadian  glanced  at  the 
big  mauleys  of  the  Texan  and  noticed  that 
both  were  covered  with  bandages.  Fearful 
that  perhaps  they  might  not  be  of  the  soft 
surgical  kind  he  scrutinized  them  closely,  but. 
finding  them  to  his  satisfaction,  he  made  no 
objection. 

The  announcement  was  made  that  if  during 


LIP-E    AND    BATTt,?:S    OF    JACK    JOIINSON.        4.^ 

the  contest  the  police  should  interfere  and  stop 
it,  the  referee  would  immediately  give  a 
decision  based  on  points  scored. 

When  Burns  stripped  it  was  noticed  he 
wore  elastic  bandages  about  his  elbows. 
Johnson  shouted  across  the  ring,  half  angrily, 
"You  must  take  tlio-^c  off." 

THE  BATTLE  BY  ROUNDS. 

First  Round. — After  a  few  moments  of  preliminary 
sparring  Johnson  reached  Burns  with  a  sharp  upper  cut 
and  the  Canadian  went  to  tlie  floor,  remaining  there  for 
the  count  of  eight.  He  signalled  to  his  seconds  that  he 
was  all  right,  however,  and  when  he  arose  sailed  in  for 
Johnsons  body.  Jolinson  swung  a  hard  right  to  the  head, 
and  Burns  staggered  backward  n(  arly  across  the  ring 
from  the  impact  of  the  blo\■.^  Then  Burns,  rushing  in, 
planted  a  right  of  great  force  on  Johnson's  chin  and  by  an 
excellent  display  of  boxing  warded  off  a  return.  Johnson, 
nevertheless,  managed  to  put  through  a  stinging  left  to 
the  head  at  the  soimd  of  the  gong. 

Second  Round. — When  the  gong  clanged  Johnson 
yelled  across  to  the  approaching  Burns,  "Come  right  on," 
and  he  swung  his  right  and  landed  hard  on  Burns'  ciiin. 
The  champion's  ankle  gave  way  under  him  and  ho  went 
down,  lie  was  up  immediately,  however,  and  Johnson 
got  to  close  quarters  with  him  and  placed  right  and  left 
to  face  and  body.  Burns'  left  eye  here  commenced  to 
swell.     Johnson   thus   far   had   the  better  of  the  battle. 


TEX   RICKARD,    FIGHT   PROMOTER. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.       45 

The  big  black  man  was  coming  all  the  time  and  he  swung 
a  terrific  left  into  Burns'  stomach.  Burns  was  doing  but 
little.  He  was  bleeding  from  the  mouth  and  apparently 
was  tired.     The  men  were  clinched  as  tlie  bell  rang. 

Third  Bound. — Burns  swung  his  right  to  Johnson's 
head  and  then  did  some  wonderful  execution  at  infighting, 
chopping  his  right  to  the  ribs  frequently.  Johnson  dur 
ing  the  round  landed  some  terrific  blows  to  the  kidneys. 

Fourth  Round. — When  the  men  met  in  the  centre  of 
the  ring  Johnson  shot  a  heavy  right  into  Burns'  ribs.  The 
men  talked  wildly  to  each  other,  each  seemingly  intent 
upon  getting  the  other  excited  and  landing  the  money 
winning  punch.  During  the  jeering  they  sparred  fiercely, 
but  few  blows  were  struck.  Then  Johnson  swung  left  to 
the  body  and  Burns  brought  right  to  head.  Johnson, 
closing  in,  threw  a  terrific  right  and  left  to  the  head  of 
the  Canadian,     The  bell  found  the  men  in  a  hard  clinch. 

Fifth  Round. — Apparently  refreshed  from  his  minute's 
rest,  Burns  started  the  round  briskly,  landing  his  right  on 
Johnsons  head  and  punching  the  body  with  both  hands. 
Johnson  managad  to  slip  over  a  few  rights  to  the  head 
during  the  round. 

Sixth  Round. — Johnson  rushed  and  Burns  clinched. 
Breaking  loose,  however,  with  one  hand,  Johnson  swung 
his  right  a  dozen  times  into  the  white  man's  ribs.  Burns 
jolted  Joluison's  body  frecjueutly  and  swung  his  right 
hard  over  the  ribs  and  put  a  stilt  left  to  the  stoniucli 
several  times.  Jolmson  Ircatcd  ilicsc  blows  as  a  joke, 
laughing  at  the  crowd  nnd   makin;;-  sarcastic  remarks  to 


46        LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

his  opponent  as  be  bustled  Burns  into  a  corner  and  scored 
a  couple  of  rights  to  the  body. 

Seventh  Round.— Johnson  rushed  Burns  across  the 
ring,  dealing  out  rights  in  which  there  was  no  mercy. 
Burns  got  a  left  to  Johnson's  jaw  and  Johnson  raisi-d  a 
lump  under  Burns'  right  eye  in  return.  Burns  here 
seemed  to  be  losing  strength.  Johnson  was  landing  re- 
peatedly on  Burns'  eye,  meanwhile  addressing  the  people 
about  the  ringside,  and  tlx.ugh  Tommy  was  working 
dexterously  at  infighting  he  placed  several  terrific  blows 
onBurns'ribs,  dropping  him  to  the  floor  for  a  few  seconds. 

Eighth  Round. — Burns'  eyes  were  pufTed  up  and  he 
was  bleeding  from  tha  mouth  when  he  emerged  from  his 
corner.  The  white  man's  blows  apparenily  had  little 
effect  on  the  Texan,  who  went  severely  about  belaboring 
the  head  of  the  champion. 

Ninth  Round. — "Come  on.  Tommy;  swing  your 
right!"  yelled  Johnson  as  the  gong  rang.  Burns  re- 
sponded by  calling  the  negro  a  "yellow  dog."  There 
was  not  very  much  fighting,  probably  more  talking,  dur- 
ing this  roimd. 

Tenth  Round. — Both  men  seemed  tiring.  Johnson  still 
used  his  fists  effectively  on  Burns"  head  and  stomach  and 
Burns  was  doing  all  he  could  in  reply.  His  blows,  how- 
ever, lacked  steam. 

Eleventh  Round. — The  perspiration  pouring  ofif  the 
body  of  Johnson  made  it  look  not  unlike  highly  polished 
walnut.  Burns  tried  to  cross  his  right  over,  but  Johnson 
cleverly  avoided  him,  meantime  hiUfrhing  at  the  champion. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         47 

Burns  is  outclassed  and  Johnson  apparently  is  invulner- 
able.    When  the  bell  rang  Burns  limped  to  his  corner. 

Twelfth  Round. — Johnson  continued  to  rushtind  Burns 
took  a  tremendous  lot  of  punishment  gamely.  His  jaw  is 
greatly  swollen. 

Thirteenth  Roimd. — Johnson  continued  to  play  for  the 
injured  eye  and  the  cut  mouth  of  Burns,  which  was 
swollen  twice  its  normal  size.  Blow  after  blow  the 
colored  man  rained  upon  him,  and  the  gong  alone  saved 
the  white  man  from  defeat,  for  he  was  reeling  and  groggy 
as  it  rang. 

During  the  intermission  between  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  rounds  the  police  officials  consulted  together, 
aad  it  seemed  probable  that  they  would  stop  the  fight  in 
the  next  round  Mcintosh  went  to  Bums'  corner  and  had 
a  talk  with  the  champion,  who  declared  that  he  was 
strong.     Mcintosh  tlien  asked  the  police  not  to  interfere. 

Fourteenth  Round. — Johnson  went  right  after  Burns 
when  time  was  called.  The  white  man  warily  backed 
away,  but  Jolmsnn,  following  him  up,  dropped  Burns 
with  a  heavy  right  to  the  head.  "One,  two,  three," 
slowly  counted  the  referee,  and  Burns  remained  down 
until  eight  seconds  had  been  tolled  off.  When  he  arose 
Johnsun  flew  at  him  like  a  tiger,  and,  xising  both  hands 
immercifuUy,  soon  had  the  champion  tottering.  The 
police  then  juni|)ed  into  tiie  ring  and  stopped  the  fight. 

Hugh  D.  Mcliitosli,  tlic  referee,  immediately  declared 
Johnson  the  winner,  lie  adiled  that  he  considered  it  ilie 
best  fight  he  ever  hud  witnessed  in  Australia  and  that  both 
men  had  fought  most  fairly. 


48       LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

THE    BATTLE    WITH    O'BRIEN. 

Johnson's  next  fight  was  in  the  arena  of  the 
National  Athletic  Club  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  on 
May  19,  1909,  when  he  met  Philadelphia  Jack 
O'Brien  for  six  rounds.  Johnson  gave  his 
weight  at  205  pounds,  while  O'Brien  stated 
he  weighed  162  pounds. 

O'Brien  gamely  carried  the  fight  to  the  big 
colored  fellow  during  most  of  the  rounds.  But 
in  doing  this  O'Brien  got  some  very  hard 
bumps  and  was  pretty  badly  hurt  at  times,  and 
there  was  no  doubt  that  the  champion  had  the 
better  of  the  contest. 

At  times  Johnson  cut  loose  with  great  vigor 
and  then  it  was  that  O'Brien  was  punished 
severely.  The  white  man  was  down  several 
times,  although  only  once  on  a  fair  knock- 
down. Once  O'Brien  was  carried  through  the 
ropes  by  one  of  Johnson's  fierce  rushes  and 
had  it  not  been  for  the  assistance  of  those  on 
the  outside  he  would  have  fallen  to  the  floor 
on  the  other  side  of  the  ring. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON,        49 

The  blow  that  knocked  O'Brien  down  was 
delivered  in  the  fifth  round  and  came  in  the 
midst  of  a  fierce  rally  on  the  part  of  the  colored 
fellow.  His  lefts  and  rights  drove  O'Brien 
backward  as  wind  would  drive  chaff,  and  a 
short  right,  the  kind  for  which  Johnson  is 
famous,  caught  O'Brien  under  the  left  eye. 
Jack  went  down  as  though  kicked  by  a  mule, 
but  came  up  quickly  without  waiting  for  the 
count. 

The  mark  of  the  blow  was  plainly  visible, 
for  blood  trickled  from  an  abrasion  and  a 
swelling  about  the  size  of  a  mouse  slowly  ap- 
peared, O'Brien  wisely  tried  to  hold  until  he 
could  gather  his  senses,  but  the  burly  negro 
shook  him  off  and  shot  home  two  or  three 
more  lefts  and  rights,  which  O'Brien  slipped 
or  parried. 


50        LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

THE    FIGHT    WITH     KETCHELL. 

At  Jimmy  Coffroth's  Colma,  Cal.,  arena  on 
Oct.  1 6,  1909,  Johnson  retained  the  heavy- 
weight championship  of  the  world  by  knock- 
ing out  Stanley  Ketchell  in  the  twelfth  round. 
The  end  came  so  suddenly  that  when  Ketchell 
rolled  to  the  floor  and  Referee  Welch  counted 
him  out  the  10,000  persons  crowding  the  arena 
were  absolutely  c[uiet  for  a  full  minute. 


THE    BATTLE    BY    ROUNDS. 

First  Round. — The  men  dispensed  with  the  usual  for- 
mality of  shaking  hands  as  they  wallied  to  tlie  centre  of 
the  ring.  The  discrepancy  in  stature  and  weight  was 
particularly  noticeable  as  they  came  together.  Johnson 
towered  above  the  white  man.  The  first  point  scored  was 
by  Johnson,  who  landed  a  hard  left  to  the  stomach  after 
a  good  deal  of  fibbing  by  each.  Each  man  was  cautious, 
feeling  out  the  other.  Twice  Johnson  landed  with  effect 
as  Ketchell  hustled  him  around  the  ring  and  forced  him 
against  the  ropes.  Then  he  sidestepped  out  of  the  dan- 
ger spot  and  the  bell  rang  with  the  men  in  the  centre  of 
the  ring  fighting  cautio;;siy.  Ketchell  looked  nervous 
throughout,  while  Johusou  smiled  continually. 

Second  Round. — They    r.iu    to  a  clinch  and  Referee 


Life  and  battles  of  jack  johnson.      qt 

Wl'KIi  pried  tlicm  apart.  On  the  break  Johnson  shot  a 
straiglit  left  lo  Ihe  nose  and  soon  repeated  it.  At  every 
clinch  Ke  chell  tried  willi  short-arm  blows  for  the  stom- 
ach. In  a  clinch  Ketchell  uppercut  hard  to  the  jaw  with 
his  left.  This  angered  the  champion,  wlio  rushed  in  laud- 
ing left  and  right  on  the  body.  Ketchell  went  to  the  floor 
with  considerable  force,  although  his  fall  was  due  more  to 
a  slip  of  the;  foot  than  a  blow.  lie  was  up  quickly  and 
rushed  in,  but  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  under  Jack's 
long  reach.  Johnson  merely  toyed  with  him  until  the 
bed  ended  the  round. 

Third  Round. — They  sparred  for  thirty  seconds  and 
then  closed  in,  swinging  right  and  left  at  close  range 
Ketchell  landing  on  the  body  once  with  his  right.  Ket- 
chell drove  his  right  high  on  the  breast,  and  as  they 
clinched  Johnson  uppercut  twice  with  the  right.  The 
referee  separated  them.  They  again  rushed  in  close, 
Johnson  putting  in  short  rights  and  left  to  the  stomach. 
The  white  man  uppercut  with  left  to  the  face  as  they 
broke  from  a  clinch.  Just  before  the  round  ended  John- 
fccm  swung  his  right  to  the  jaw.  Ketchell  went  to  his 
corner,  however,  dancing,  and  looked  fresh.  Johnson 
kei)t  up  a  running  fire  of  conversation  with  his  seconds 
during  the  minute  respite. 

Fourth  Round.— After  much  sparring  Johnson  rushed 
in,  forcing  his  man  to  the  ropes.  Placing  his  arms  around 
Ketchell  he  fairly  carried  him  to  the  centre  of  the  ring. 
Ketchell  swung  a  terrific  right  intended  for  Johnson's  jaw. 
It  just  missed,  but  it  was  a  close  shave.     Johnson  then 


52         LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

steadily  backed  away  as  they  sparred  for  a  lead  with  Ket- 
chcU  follov.'ing.  He  tlien  sent  a  hard  right  to  the  jaw, 
but  Ketchell  kept  constautly  teasing  him  in  an  effort  to 
make  him  lead.     It  was  a  tame  round. 

Fifth  Round. — Ketchell  opened  with  a  left  to  the  body 
to  which  Johnson  replied  with  two  lefts  to  the  face.  John- 
son sent  Ketchell's  head  back  with  two  straight  lefts  to 
the  nose.  Ketchell  again  essayed  to  force  Johnson  to  lead. 
Ketchell  showed  unexpected  cleverness  at  blocking.  John 
son  then  swung  his  left  twice  to  the  face  and  the  men 
sparred  at  long  range,  Johnson  working  in  a  left  to  the 
face.     Neither  man  showed  damage  as  the  round  ended. 

Sixth  Round.  — Each  missed  a  left  swing,  and  then 
Ketchell  landed  a  left  to  the  body  and  followed  with  an- 
other left  to  the  jaw.  Johnson  countered  with  a  left  to 
the  stomach.  Johnson  shot  out  his  left  catching  Ketchell 
on  both  hands  as  the  latter  threw  up  his  guard  and  Ket- 
chell was  sent  to  the  floor.  He  jumped  up  smiling.  John- 
son gave  him  a  warm  reception.  He  uppercut  wiih  right 
to  the  jaw  and  raked  Ketchell's  face  with  a  succession  of 
lefts  to  the  jaw.  Ketchell  continued  to  force  the  pace  but 
was  met  with  two  lefts  on  the  nose  that  started  blood. 
Johnson  had  a  good  lead  at  the  end  of  the  round. 

Seventh  Round. — Johnson  swooped  in  with  two  lefts 
on  the  nose,  Ketchell  countering  with  a  hard  left  hook  on 
the  body.  Johnson  shot  another  straight  left  to  the  nose 
and  Ketchell  missed  a  terrific  left  swing  for  the  jaw.  As 
they  closed  in  Johnson  uppercut  with  right  to  the  jaAv. 
Blood   flowed   from  Ketchell's  nose.     At  close  quarters 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         53 

Johnsoa  landed  several  times  on  the  nose  and  face.  Sud- 
denly Kctchell  swung  Lis  left  with  terrific  force.  It 
caught  the  champion  solidly  on  the  jaw,  raising  a  big 
lump  that  was  perceptible  to  the  spectators.  It  was  the 
best  blow  of  the  fight. 

Eighth  Round. — Johnson  immediately  closed  in,  land- 
ing twice  with  his  left  on  the  face.  The  fighters  roughed 
it,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  Ketchell  worked  in  a  hard 
right  uppercut  to  the  jaw.  The  referee  separated  the 
men,  Johnson  landing  left  and  right  on  the  face  as  they 
broke.  Ketchell  missed  with  another  of  his  terrific  swings 
and  almost  went  through  the  ropes  from  the  force  of  his 
effort.  John.son  forced  his  opponent  back  gradually  and 
landed  a  left  to  the  jaw.  Ketchell  again  missed  a  hard 
right  swing  and  again  nearly  went  through  the  ropes 
from  its  misdirected  force. 

Ninth  Round — They  closed  in,  each  landing  short-arm 
rights  on  the  face.  Tlie  referee  was  forced  twice  to  break 
the  men  from  clinches.  Tlie  champion  sent  in  four  sting- 
ing straight  lefts  to  the  face,  but  Ketchell  did  not  break 
ground.  On  the  contrary,  he  rushed  in,  hammering  at 
the  champion's  stomach,  but  liis  l)lows  were  smothered. 
Ketchell  planted  his  left  over  the  ribs  and  Johnson  coun- 
tered with  a  short  left  to  the  jaw.  Johnson  again  liookcd 
his  left  to  the  jaw  and  a  cliruh  followed.  Johnson  broke 
it  up  witli  a  hard  straight  blow  to  the  face.  Immedi- 
ately after,  however,  the  men  were  again  wrestling. 
Johnson  swung  Ketchell  almost  off  his  balance.  Getting 
him  against  the  ropes  he  sent  a  right  wallop  to  the  stom- 


54       LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

acli  and  Ketchell  winced.  Jolmsoa  patted  Ketchell  on 
the  stomach  with  his  open  hand  as  the  bell  clanged.  Ket- 
chell looked  worried  as  he  took  his  chair. 

Tenth  Round. — After  a  clinch  Johnson  sent  two  light 
lefts  to  the  stomach  and  quickly  shifted  to  the  jaw,  where 
he  connected  twice  and  Ketchell  started  spitting  blood. 
Johnson  wrestled  Ketchell  to  the  floor,  then  lifted  him  up 
and  placed  him  in  the  centre  of  the  ring.  In  a  mid-ring 
rally  Johnson  sent  three  straight  iefls  to  Kelchell's  sore 
mouth  and  nose,  starting  the  blood  afresh. 

Eleventh  Round. — After  some  desultory  sparring  Ket- 
chell whipped  his  left  to  the  kidneys  and  missed  two  hard 
swings  for  the  jaw.  It  was  noticeable  that  the  right 
uppercut  that  Johnson  used  with  good  effect  in  his  other 
fights  had  little  effect  upon  Ketchell.  The  Michigander 
landed  a  terrific  right  almost  on  the  point  of  the  jaw.  The 
champion  immediately  clinched  and  seemed  content  to 
rest.  Ketchell  forced  the  fighting,  seeking  to  follow  up 
Ihe  advantage,  but  could  not  solve  his  opponent's  defense. 
Ketchell's  battered  face  was  proof  that  Johnson's  constant 
left  jabs  were  reaching  their  mark. 

Twelfth  Round. — Ketchell  suddenly  rushing  in  sent 
his  right  to  the  jaw.  Johnson  fell  flat  upon  his  back  and 
tlie  fall  seemed  to  have  injured  him,  but  the  tricky  cham- 
pion was  waiting  for  him.  He  swung  a  hard  right  to  the 
jaw  and  then  a  left  to  the  body.  As  Ketchell  fell  back- 
ward Johnson  sent  another  right  swing  to  the  face  and 
the  white  man  went  to  the  mat  as  if  ho  had  been  shot. 
There  he  lay,  blood  streaming  from  his  mouth.  He  made 
a  weak  effort  to  rise,  but  fell  back  and  was  counted  out. 


LIKE    AND    BA  r'l'T.KS    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         55 


ARRANGING    THE    BIG    FIGHT. 


Then  began  negotiations  for  the  big  battle 
between  Johnson  and  James  J.  Jeffries.  All 
this  while  there  had  been  talk  of  bringing  the 
two  men  together,  and  at  last  Jeffries  was  in- 
dncedto  come  out  of  retirement.  The  result  of 
a  lot  of  talk  was  the  following: 

Form  of  agreement  entered  into  this 
eleventh  day  of  August,  1909,  between  Jack 
Johnson,  of  Galveston,  Tex.,  and  James  J. 
Jeffries,  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

1.  It  is  agreed  between  these  men  mutually 
that  they  shall  box  a  certain  number  of 
rounds,  the  same  to  be  anywhere  from  20  to 
100,  for  the  heavyweight  championship  of  the 
world. 

2.  Contest  to  be  held  before  the  club  offer- 
ing the  best  inducements  and  mutually  agreed 
upon  by  the  contestants. 

3.  The  division  of  the  purse  shall  l)e  on  a 
basis  of  either  60  per  cent,  and  40  per  cent,  to 
winner  and  loser,  respectively,  or  75  per  cent. 


56        LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

and  25  per  cent,  or  winner  may  be  permitted 
to  take  the  entire  amount.  The  decision  in 
this  matter  to  rest  with  James  J.  Jeffries. 

4.  The  sum  of  $5,000  each  is  to  be  posted 
with  Charles  A.  Comiskey  of  Chicago  as  a 
guarantee  of  good  faith  and  the  fulfillment  by 
each  side  of  the  terms  of  this  agreement.  Said 
money  to  be  posted  within  seventy-two  hours. 
It  is  further  agreed  that  the  above  named 
$5,000  shall  operate  as  a  side  bet  on  the  result 
of  the  contest. 

5.  It  is  further  agreed  that  the  club  will  be 
selected  and  mutually  agreed  upon  sixty  days 
from  date,  at  which  time  all  further  details 
will  be  mutually  agreed  upon. 

6.  Contest  to  take  place  not  later  than  six 
months  from  date  of  selecting  club  and  the 
signing  of  final  articles. 

(Signed)    Sam  Berger  for  JamesJ.  Jeffries. 
(Signed)    Jack  Johnson. 

Then  there  was  another  meeting  at  which 
this  agreement  was  drawn  up  and  signed. 
The  agreement  entered  into  this  day  between 


I.IKE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         57 

Jack  Johnson  and  James  J.   Jeffries  provides 
for  the  following : 

1.  They  agree  to  box  for  the  heavyweight 
championship  of  the  world. 

2.  They  agree  to  box  for  the  club,  organ- 
ization or  person  offering  the  best  financial  in- 
ducement. 

3.  Bids  for  the  contest  must  be  submitted 
on  Dec.  i,  1909,  at  3  P.  ]M.  at  the  Hotel 
Albany,  New  York  city. 

4.  Each  club,  organization  or  person  mak- 
ing a  bid  for  this  contest  must  have  a  repre- 
sentative on  the  ground  wIto  will  post  §5,000 
in  coin  or  certified  check  to  make  good  any 
and  all  stipulations  of  this  bid. 

5.  Referee  to  be  selected  when  the  club's 
bid  is  accepted. 

6.  It  is  hereby  agreed  that  the  contest  shall 
be  forty-five  rounds  or  more. 

7.  The  purse  shall  be  divided  75  per  cent, 
to  the  winner  and  25  per  cent,  to  the  loser. 

8.  Each  of  the  contestants  lierewith  posts 
with  Robert  P.  Murphy,  of  New  York,  as  tern- 


58       LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

porary  stakeholder  the  sum  of  ijiiio,ooo.  Of 
this  sum  each  posts  $5,000  as  a  wager  or  side 
bet  on  the  result  of  the  contest  and  $5,000  as  a 
forfeit  to  guarantee  compliance  with  these 
articles, 

9.  The  contest  shall  take  place  not  later 
than  July  5,  1910. 

10.  It  is  hereby  understood  and  agreed  that 
the  contest  shall  be  fought  under  straight  Mar- 
quis of  Queensberry  rules  and  with  five  ovmce 
gloves. 

11.  The  final  stake  and  forfeit  holder  is  to 
be  decided  upon  when  the  club  is  selected. 

Witness  our  hands  and  seals  this  29th  day  of 
October,  1909. 

(Signed)    James  J.  Jeffries,  Sam  Berger. 
Jack  Johnson,  George  Little. 

Witness:  Bob  Vernon,  William  J.  Wright, 
Robert  P.  Murphy. 

The  meeting  to  open  the  bids  and  decide  the 
details  of  the  match  was  scheduled  to  take 
place  in  New  York  city,  on  Dec.  i,  but  Police 
Commissioner  Baker  decided  this  proceeding 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        59 

would  be  unlawful  and  threatened  to  arrest 
Johnson  and  Jeffries  and  all  the  principals  if 
they  met  for  this  purpose,  and  the  scene  of 
the  gathering  was  transferred  to  Naegeli's 
Hotel  in  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

The  scenes  at  the  opening  of  the  bids  were 
dramatic.  As  was  expected  the  stakes  were 
so  high  that  only  the  heaviest  gamblers  had  a 
chance  to  sit  in  the  game.  Six  men  only  sat 
in  the  big  game.  They  were  Eddie  Graney, 
Tex  Rickard.  Jack  Gleason,  Jimmy  Coffroth, 
Tom  McCarey  and  Hugh  Mcintosh.  Coffroth 
was  pooled  with  and  represented  by  Jack 
Gleason.  Mcintosh's  cards  were  played  by 
Phil  King,  his  American  representative. 

Stakeholder  Bob  Murphy  took  his  seat  at  the 
head  of  the  table.  George  Little  and  Jack 
Johnson  were  on  ]Murphy's  left  and  Tom 
McCarey  and  Sam  Bergcronliis  riglit.  Seated 
around  the  table  or  pushed  about  in  the  crowd 
that  surged  through  the  room  were  the  other 
bidders,  Jack  Gleason,  Tex  Rickard,  Eddie 
Graney  and  Phil  King. 


6o         LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

Graney's  bid  was  read  first.  As  president 
of  the  Tuxedo  A.  C,  of  San  Francisco,  he 
made  three  propositions  to  the  fighters.  First 
he  offered  them  80  per  cent,  of  the  gross  re- 
ceipts, with  a  guarantee  of  875,000,  the  entire 
picture  privileges  to  go  to  the  contestants. 
Second,  80  per  cent,  of  the  gross  receipts, 
$70,000  guaranteed,  with  $20,000  for,  or  ^;^  1-3 
per  cent,  of  the  moving  picture  privileges. 
Third,  90  per  cent,  of  the  gross  receipts,  with 
no  guarantee  and  the  entire  moving  picture 
privileges. 

Graney's  bid  was  accompanied  by  a  certified 
check  of  $5,000,  as  a  guarantee  of  good  faith. 
In  his  bid  he  stipulated  that  he  would  hold 
the  bout  in  an  open  pavilion,  seating  25,000, 
with  a  guaranteed  seating  capacity  of  25,000, 
in  or   within    five    miles  of    San  Francisco. 

Jack  Gleason,  pooled  with    Jimmy  Coffroth, 

was  the  next  to  be  considered.      The  Gleason- 

Coffroth    proposition    offered    the    fighters    a 

purse  of  $125,000  with  no  picture  privileges,  or 

a  guaranteed  purse  of  $75,000  with  66  2-3  per 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         6l 

cent,  of  the  inoving-  picture  profits,  or  80  per 
cent,  of  the  gross  receipts  with  66  2-3  per  cent, 
of  the  picture  privileges.  Gleason  promised 
to  post  $30,000  immediately  upon  accepting 
his  first  offer,  $20,000  on  agreeing  to  the  sec- 
ond proposition,  or  $10,000  if  the  fighters  chose 
his  third  offer.  Gleason  posted  a  New  York 
draft  for  $5,000  with  his  bid,  and  stipulated 
that  the  bout  would  take  place  in  Colma, 
Ocean  View  or  San  Francisco,  on  July  4,  19 10. 

Mcintosh's  bid  was  the  third  opened.  The 
Australian  proposition  was  as  follows: 

"I  guarantee  each  man  for  the  contest  in 
America,  $37,500;  if  the  contest  is  held  in 
England,  $40,000;  in  France,  $40,000;  in  Aus- 
tralia, $50,000,  all  rights  reserved.  I  make 
the  alternative  offer  that  if  the  contest  is  held 
in  cither  America,  England  or  France,  Jeffries 
and  Johnson  may  have  the  whole  of  the  gross 
gate,  less  $10,000,  witli  a  minimum  guarantee 
of  $25,000  to  each  man,  all  rights  reserved  by 
me.  If  in  Australia,  whole  gross  gate  receipts 
without    deduction,     and  with    a    guaranteed 


62       LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

minimum  of  $37,500  to  each  man,  all  rights  re- 
served by  me.  My  second  alternative  offer  is 
that  I  will  give  purses  in  America  or  France 
of  $50,000  and  one-third  of  privileges. 

"For  the  pictures  I  offer:  In  England, 
$13,000  and  one-fourth  interest;  in  Australia, 
$20,000,  all  rights  reserved.  The  contest  to 
take  place  at  a  date  to  be  named  by  me  during 
the  year  1910,  each  contestant  to  receive  not 
less  than  three  months'  notice.  Five  thousand 
dollars  will  be  deposited  by  me  as  a  forfeit  to 
guarantee  my  good  faith." 

Then  Tex  Rickard  handed  a  sealed  envelope 
to  Murphy,  and  as  the  stakeholder  carelessly 
tore  open  the  envelope,  Rickard  cautioned: 

"You  had  better  be  careful  with  that  en- 
velope, Mr.  Murphy.      It  contains  money." 

It  did.  Rickard  inclosed  $20,000  with  his 
offer,  fifteen  $1,000  bills  and  a  check  for 
$5,000.  When  Master  of  Ceremonies  Murphy 
began  to  read,  "  G.  L.  Rickard,  of  Ely,  Nev., 
and  John  J.  Gleason,  San  Francisco,  submit 
the    following  bid,"   further   commotion    was 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         63 

caused,  for  it  was  seen  that  Gleason  not  only 
had  tied  up  with  Coffroth,  but  also  was  bound 
up  with  Rickard.  The  Nevada  mine  owner 
and  the  California  baseball  magnate  offered 
the  fighters  a  guaranteed  purse  of  .f  101,000, 
with  66  2-3  per  cent,  of  the  moving  picture 
privileges.  The  bids  stipulated  that  the  bout 
would  be  held  on  July  4  in  California,  Nevada 
or  Utah.  Besides  the  $20,000  accompanying 
his  bid,  Rickard  announced  that  he  would 
post  $20,000  more  sixty  days  before  the  fight 
and  would  put  up  an  additional  $50,000  forty- 
eight  hours  before  the  encounter. 

Tom  McCarey's  was  the  last  bid  to  be 
opened.  McCarey,  in  behalf  of  the  Pacific 
A.  C,  of  Los  Angeles,  offered  the  fighters  the 
entire  gate  receipts  and  50  per  cent,  of  the 
moving  picture  privileges,  or  a  guaranteed 
parse  of  $110,000  with  50  per  cent,  of  the 
moving  picture  privileges.  If  the  contestants 
accepted  the  McCarey  proposition,  new  and 
final  articles  must  be  signed  within  twenty- 
four  hours. 


64        LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

Berger  and  Johnson  both  asked  Murphy  to 
read  agam  the  Graney  and  Rickard  propo- 
sitions. The  two  discussed  the  bids  for  a 
time  and  then  asked  for  twenty-four  hours 
in  which  to  consider  them. 

On  the  following  day  all  the  principals  met 
in  Hoboken,  and  without  any  formalities 
accepted  Rickard's  bid,  carrying  with  it  the 
greatest  gambling  proposition  ever  heard  of. 

Tex  Rickard,  who  was  the  promoter  of  the 
record-drawing  fight  between  Joe  Gans  and 
Battling  Nelson  at  Goldfield,  Nev.,  on  Sept.  6, 
1906,  is  a  celebrity  of  the  gold  fields  of  Alaska 
and  the  mining  camps  of  Nevada  and  the 
Southwest,  who  has  lost  fortunes  time  and 
again  only  to  win  them  back  on  another  turn 
of  Forttme's  wheel. 


JOHNSON-JEFFRIES  BATTLE. 

The  battle  took  place  as  scheduled,  but  not 
in  California.  Governor  Gillett,  for  reasons 
best  known  to  himself,  stepped  in  at  the 
eleventh  hour   and   prohibited  a  continuance 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        65 

of  the  arrangements,  and  also  announced  that 
he  would  call  out  the  militia  in  case  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  pull  off  the  contest  in  Cali- 
fornia. Rickard  then  went  to  his  home  State, 
Nevada,  and  within  a  short  time  procured 
assurances  from  the  business  men  of  Reno 
that  the  license  w^ould  be  subscribed  and  he 
would  be  helped  in  every  way  to  erect  a  suit- 
able arena.  Both  training  camps  were  then 
transferred  to  quarters  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Reno.  A  day  or  so  before  the  Fourth  the 
purse  was  cut  to  60  and  40  instead  of  75  and 
25  per  cent. 

It  was  announced  that  Charley  White,  of 
New  York,  would  act  as  second  referee,  to 
take  the  place  of  Rickard  in  case  anything 
occurred  before  or  during  the  battle  to  require 
the  substitution  of  another  man. 

The  men  were  examined  by  physicians, 
according  to  the  laws  of  Nevada,  and  pro- 
nounced to  be  in  the  best  possible  physical 
condition. 

On  July  4  the  great  arena  was  filled  with 


66       I,TFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

20,000  people,  and  shortly  after  two  o'clock 
the  principals  were  in  their  corners.  Johnson 
entered  the  ring  at  2  130,  and  Jeffries  followed 
two  minutes  later.  In  Johnson's  corner  were 
Billy  Delaney,  Tom  Flanagan,  Barney  Furey, 
Kid  Cotton  and  Frank  Sutton.  Behind  Jef- 
fries were  Jim  Corbett,  Joe  Choynski,  Sam 
Berger,  Farmer  Burns,  Abe  Attell,  Bob  An;  - 
strong  and  Roger  Cornell.  Timekeeper  was 
George  Harting.  Timekeeper  for  Johnson, 
Stanley  Ketchell ;  for  Jeffries,  Billy  Gallagher; 
Announcer,  Billy  Jordan,  of  San  Francisco. 
Referee,  Tex  Rickard ;  second  referee,  in  case 
of  an  emergency,  Charley  White,  of  New 
York.     There  were  no  preliminary  bouts. 

Time  was  called  at  2  137,  and  both  advanced 
to  the  centre  of  the  ring. 


THE    BATTLE    BY    ROUNDS. 

First  Round — Jeff  walked  in  and  Johnson  gave 
ground.  Jolinson  led  a  straight  left.  Then  a  clincli 
followed.  Jelf  hooked  a  left  on  tlie  ueok  and  in  the 
clinch  sent  a  left  to  the  body.  Johnson  responded  Avitli 
a  left  and  they  continued  to  stand  breast  to   breast, 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         6? 

trying  for  inside  blows.  As  they  broke  Jeff  sent  a  left 
to  Johnson's  neck  and  crossed  to  the  body.  The  round 
was  tame.  As  they  turned  to  their  corners,  Jeff  tapped 
Johnson  on  the  shoulder  and  smiled. 

Second  Round — Jeff  assumed  liis  crouch,  but  missed 
his  first  attempt.  Jack  forced  the  pace  and  Jeff  stepped 
nimbly  away.  Jack  sent  a  left  to  Jeff's  face,  and  as 
they  clinched  ripped  a  hard  uppercut  to  Jeffs  chin. 
They  held  together  and  were  unwilling  to  give  each 
other  any  chance.  Jeff  sent  a  right  to  the  rilis  and 
took  a  left  on  the  face  at  close  quarters.  Jeff' crouched 
and  waited  for  Johnson,  but  he  was  not  willing.  They 
came  together  without  a  blow  and  Johnson  tried  his 
uppercut  but  missed.  Jeff  put  a  right  on  Jack's 
shoulder  and  pushed  him  about.  AVhen  they  broke 
Jack  shot  his  left  hard  to  Jeffs  face  and  tried  his  up- 
percut but  missed  again.  Then  there  was  a  lot  of 
wrestling  and  not  much  fighting.  The  gong  rang  with- 
out a  good  blow  having  been  struck. 

Third  Round — Jolmson  fell  into  a  short  left  to  the 
stomach.  Tliey  clinched.  Jack  dashed  a  left  to  the 
nose  and  they  clinched  again.  Johnson  missed  with 
right  and  left  uppercuts  and  then  Johnson  tried  a 
vicious  right  to  the  head,  but  Jeffries  ducked  and 
clinched.  Johnson  was  very  cautious  in  tiie  break- 
aways. Johnson  sent  two  liglit  rights  to  tlu'  liead  and 
liiey  clinched.  At  the  bell  Jellrics  s<'nt  a  light  left  to 
the  head.     Tne  round  was  even. 

Fourth  Round— Johnson  sent  a  left  to  the  head.  Jef- 
fries  blocked  Jack's  right  to  tlie  same  place   anil    a 


68        LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

clinch  followed.  Jeffries  sent  three  hard  rights  to  the 
stomach.  Johnson  put  a  left  to  the  head.  Johnson's 
nose  Avas  bleeding.  Jeffries  goes  into  a  clinch.  Jolin- 
son  sends  a  right  to  the  kidneys.  In  the  clinch  he  sent 
a  straight  left  to  the  head  and  then  took  one  in  return. 
They  clinched.  Johnson  held  in  the  clinches.  John- 
son Avent  against  the  ropes  and  took  three  jabs  to  the 
stomach.  The  crowd  Avent  Avild  at  Jeffries'  shoAving. 
Atthe  break  Johnson  sent  a  right  to  the  ear,  without 
damage.  Jeffries  had  a  shade  the  better  of  this  round. 

Fifth  Round — They  sparred  and  Johnson  kept  talk- 
ing to  Jeffries.  He  kids  Jim  in  the  clinches.  Jeffries 
rushed  in  Avith  left  to  the  ribs.  Then  a  clinch.  John- 
son sent  a  long  left  to  the  stomach,  but  did  no  damage. 
Jack  Avorked  a  left  uppercut  to  jaw,  and  Jim's  mouth 
was  slightly  cut.  He  dashed  in  and  sent  two  lefts  to 
face.  They  sparred  and  Johnson  backed  away.  He 
appeared  to  be  very  cautious  and  played  on  the  defen- 
sive. Jeffries  sent  a  straight  left  to  mouth,  and  an- 
other to  the  nose,  increasing  the  floAV  of  claret  from 
that  organ.  They  Avere  clinched  at  the  bell.  Kound 
even. 

Sixth  Round — The  pace  was  slow  up  to  this  time  with- 
out doing  much  damage  to  the  men.  Johnson  shot  a  left 
to  Jeff's  face  and  closed  Jeff's  right  eye..  Jack  missed 
two  rights.  Jeff's  nose  was  bleeding  when  the  gong  rang. 
When  Jeff  took  his  seat  his  seconds  got  busy  Avith  bis  eye, 
but  Jeff  told  them  that  it  Avas  O.  K.  It  Avas  Jolmsou's 
round. 

Seventh  Round — Jeff  walked  right  in.     Jack  led  right 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         O9 

and  left  and  missed.  Jefif's  eye  was  badly  swollen  and  be 
rubbed  it  with  bis  glove.  He  feinted  about  and  tried  to 
draw  Johnson  on,  but  the  negro  declined  to  eome  in.  Jeff 
stepped  in  with  left  to  body,  but  missed  it  and  took  a  left 
on  the  head.  Jeff  hooked  a  left  to  the  jaw.  Johnson 
sent  in  lefls  to  Ihe  face.  Jeff  pulled  his  way  into  another 
clinch,  but  failed  to  land.  He  drew  Jack  into  a  lead  and 
shot  a  left  to  tiie  face.  In  a  close  quarter  mi.x;;p  Jack 
sent  his  left  to  the  face. 

Eighth  Round — Thej' sparred  at  the  opening  and  John- 
son feinted.  They  rushed  into  a  clinch  and  Jack  hooked 
to  the  ear  with  a  left.  Johnson  scut  two  rights  to  the 
head  and  repeated  a  moment  later.  Johnson  'blocked 
beautifully.  In  a  half  clinch  Jeffries  pounded  the  stom- 
ach. Jeffries  ducked  a  left  and  took  a  right  on  chest. 
They  clinched  again.  Johnson  sent  a  left  to  the  stomach. 
Johnson  held  in  the  clinciies  and  referee  breaks  them. 
Johnson  forced  a  clinch,  hanmieiing  the  kidneys.  John- 
son tried  a  terrific  right  hook  to  the  jaw  but  missed. 
Johnson  sent  a  h'fc  to  the  head.  Jeffries  dashed  in  with 
a  right,  but  it  was  blocked.  They  clinched  and  Jack 
tried  rijiht  to  head,  but  was  short.  They  were  clinched 
at  the  bell.     Johnsons  round  by  a  slight  margin. 

Ninth  Roimd — Jeff  stood  up  and  walked  into  a  left  to 
the  chest.  "Make  him  fight,"  yelled  C'orbett.  "Never 
mind,  just  wait,"  said  Johnson.  Johnson  walked  in  and 
tried  left  for  body.  Jeff  got  inside  of  it  and  put  his  head 
against  Jack's  chest  and  shoved  the  black  fellow  back  to 
the  ropes.  Jeff  took  it  all  in  calmly  and  seemed  to  be 
waiting  the  opportunity  to  land  a  good  one.     Jeff  walked 


70       LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

into  two  left  jabs  on  the  face.  They  did  no  damage.  His 
wrist  landed  hard  on  the  ribs  and  Johnson  did  not  appear 
to  like  it.     It  was  Jeff's  round. 

Tenth  Round — They  came  up  slowly.  Jack  shot  a  left 
to  the  face,  but  Jeff  brushed  it  away  and  responded  with 
a  left  to  the  body.  Jack  again  missed  a  lightning  right 
to  the  jaw.  Jeflf  put  his  shoulder  against  Johnson's  body 
and  shoved  him  back.  At  close  range  Johnson  sent  a  left 
uppercut  to  Jiff's  face.  Jeflf  got  under  a  left  lead  and 
seemed  to  want  to  wear  Jack  out  by  bearing  his  weight 
and  shoving  him.  Jeff  struck  out  two  lefts  to  face  from 
a  clinch  and  got  one  of  the  same  kind.  Jeff  took  two 
lefts  on  the  face  when  they  broke.  He  stepped  in  quickly 
and  shot  a  left  to  the  body  as  gong  rang. 

Eleventh  Round — They  walked  up  carefully,  Jeff 
finally  trying  his  left  only  to  find  it  blocked.  He  took  a 
left  in  face  three  times,  but  smiled  and  talked  to  Jack. 
They  broke  away  from  a  clinch  and  Johnson  sent  a  stiff 
left  uppercut  to  the  face  and  a  right  to  the  body.  He 
kept  Jeflf  bobbing  his  head  to  keep  away  from  the  right 
uppercut  whenever  they  came  together.  In  a  cliuoh  Jack 
sent  two  uppercuts  to  face  and  Jeflf  appeared  tired.  They 
shoved  about,  Jeflf  with  his  head  on  shoulder  and  when 
they  finally  broke  Jack  hooked  left  to  nose,  drawing 
blood.  Jeff  appeared  tired,  compared  with  Johnson.  Just 
before  the  call  of  time  Jeflf  rushed  in  and  sent  left  and 
right  to  body,  but  Jack  was  going  away  and  was  not  hurt. 
Decidedly  Johnson's  round. 

Twelfth  Round — .Jim  walked  over  waiting  for  a 
chance   to   get  inside   Jack's   defense.      Jack  simply 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         71 

waited  and  then  drew  back  and  hooked  a  left  to  lace. 
"Thought  yon  said  you  Avere  going  to  have  me  wild," 
said  Johnson  to  Corbett's  taunts.  JelF  bored  his  way 
to  close  quarters,  but  got  a  left  on  the  sore  nose  for  his 
reward.  His  nose  bled  freely  and  as  he  turned  to  take 
his  seat  at  the  gong  he  spat  out  a  mass  of  blood.  Jetf 
was  not  worried  apparently  and  looked  fresh. 

Thirteenth  Round — When  they  broke  Johnson  sent 
a  left  to  the  body  and  a  right  uppercut  to  the  chin. 
"Stick  there.  Jim,"  shouted  Corbett.  Jeff  stuck  until 
he  was  forced  away.  Then  he  took  two  lefts  and  a 
right  uppercut  to  the  jaM'.  Holding  him  with  right  on 
shoulder,  Johnson  sent  in  three  lefts  to  face  in  quick 
succession  and  then  an  uppercut  to  the  face.  Jeff 
seemed  to  be  slow.  He  could  not  solve  Johnson's  de- 
fense and  took  all  the  blows  that  came  his  way.  Jack 
swung  a  left  to  the  face  and  then  calmly  clinched. 
Jetf  continued  to  come  in.  The  round  was  all  Johnson's. 

Fourteenth  Round — JeflTs  eye  Avas  almost  closed. 
Jeff  walked  into  a  left  to  the  ear.  Jack  tapped  the  big 
fellow  on  tiie  face  twice  and  blocked  Jeff's  att(unpt  at 
close  fighting.  Jeff  took  three  straight  lefts  to  face 
and  got  in  a  left  to  face.  JetFs  lefts  Avere  blocked  by 
Johnson  before  they  could  get  Avithin  six  inches  of  his 
face.  "How you  feel,  Jim?"  said  Jack,  as  they  closed 
in  and  clinched.  "How  you  like  'em?"  Jetf  Avore  a 
sober  look  and  made  no  response.  He  took  three 
more  lefts.     "They  don't  hurt,"  said  Jeff. 

Fifteenth  Round— When  the  men  faced  each  other  it 
was  plain  to  all  that  Jeffries  was  in  distress.   His  face  was 


72        LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 

puffed  and  bleeding  from  the  punishing  lefts  and  rights 
he  had  received,  and  his  movements  were  languid.  He 
shambled  after  the  elusive  negro,  sometimes  crouching 
low  with  his  hand  stuck  out  in  front,  and  sometimes  stand- 
ing erect.  Stooping  or  erect,  he  was  a  mark  for  John- 
son's accurately  driven  blows.  Johnson  simply  waited 
for  tlie  big  white  man  to  come  in  and  chopped  his  face  to 
pieces.  They  came  into  a  clinch  after  a  feeble  attempt 
by  Jeffries  to  land  a  left  hand  blow  on  the  body,  and  as 
they  broke  away  Jack  shot  his  left  and  right  to  the  jaw  in 
a  flash.  Jeffries  staggered  back  against  the  ropes.  His 
defensive  power  seemed  to  desert  him  in  an  inslant.  John- 
son dashed  at  him  like  a  tiger.  A  rain  of  lefts  and  rights 
delivered  at  close  quarters  sent  Jeffries  reeling  blindly. 
Another  series  of  short,  snappy  punclies  and  the  big 
white  giant  went  down  for  the  first  time  in  his  ring  career. 
He  fell  under  the  top  rope,  over  the  lower  one  and  onto 
the  overhang  of  the  platform.  Resting  on  his  haunches 
and  right  elbow  Jeffries  looked  around  in  a  dazed  way 
and  got  up  at  the  coimt  of  nine.  While  he  was  down 
Johnson  stood  almost  over  him  until  Rickard  waved  him 
back.  He  stood  ready  to  strike,  and  when  Jeffries  arose 
from  his  knees  he  dashed  in  again.  Jeffries  reeled  about 
and  tried  to  clinch,  but  Johnson  eluded  him,  and  as  the 
old  champion  swung  around  to  the  South  side  of  the  ring 
he  jolted  him  twice  on  the  jaw.  Jeffries  sank  to  his  knees 
weak  and  tired,  but  got  up  again  at  the  count  of  nine.  It 
was  then  that  Jeffries'  friends  began  to  call  to  Rickard  to 
stop  the  fight. 

Rickard  gave  no  heed  to  these  appeals,     Jeffries  was 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.         73 


hi  Iplcss  DOW,  and  as  lie  staggered  to  bis  feet  the  negro 
was  waiting  for  him.  A  left,  a  right  and  another  left, 
short,  snappy,  powerful  blows,  found  their  mark  on  Jef- 
fries" eiiin  and  lie  went  down  for  the  third  time.  Again 
he  sprawled  over  the  lower  rope,  hanging  half  outside  the 
ring.  The  timekeeper  rai.sed  and  lowered  his  arm,  tolling 
off  the  seconds.  He  bad  reached  the  c  lunt  of  seven  when 
some  of  Jeffries' seconds  put  foot  inside  the  ropes  and 
Rickard  walked  between  the  fallen  man  and  the  negro 
champion.  Placing  his  hand  on  Johnson's  shoulder  he 
declared  bim  the  winner.  While  Jeffries  was  not  counted 
out,  this  was  merely  a  technical  evasion.  It  was  evident 
that  be  could  never  have  got  up  inside  ten  seconds. 


STATISTICS    OF    THE     BATTLE. 

Johnson's  share  of  the  money  was  §145,600,  as  follows: 
Sixtj'- per  cent,  of  the  purse        .        -         -        -    §60,600 

Bonus 10,000 

Share  of  moving  pictures 50,000 

Total §120,600 

Earned  after  signing  articles  and  before  fight      -      25,000 

Total §145,600 

Jeffries'  end  was  as  follows: 

Forty  per  cent,  of  the  purse        .        .        .        .  §40,400 

Bonus 10,000 

Share  of  moving  pictures 66,666 

Total  --------      §117,066 

Earned  after  signing  articles  and  before  fight     -      75,000 

Total §192,066 

Total  earned  by  both  fighters       -         -         -         -  §;3;:37,666 
Tlie  gate  receipts  amounted  to  $270,775;    there  were 
15,760  i)aid  admissions;    the  profits  on  the  battle  which 
went  to  Kickard  and  Gleason  were  about  §120,000. 


74       LIFE    AND    BATTLES     OF     JACK    JOHNSON. 


JACK  JOHNSON'S  RECORD. 

Born  Mar.  31.  1878,  Galveston,  Tex.  Height  6  tt.  1%  i  J.  Weight,  195  pounds 

1897  :  Beat— S.  Smith  10  rounds.    Jim  Rocks,  4  rounds. 

1898:  Knockout— Rediiy  Breuier.  3  rounds.  Won— Jim  Cole,  4  rounds. 
Draw  — Henry  Smith,  15  rounds. 

1899  :  Draw— Pat  Smitli,  12  rounds. 

1900:  Beat— Josh  Mills,  12  rounds.    Draw— Klondike,  20  rounds. 

1901:  Knockout— Horace  Miles,  3  rounds.  Charley  Brooks,  2  rounds. 
George  Lawlor,  10  rounds.  Won— John  Lee,  15  rounds.  Jack  McCor- 
mick,  7  rounds.  Jack  McCormick,  7  rounds.  Knocked  out  by- 
Joe  Choynski,  in  March,  1901,  3  rounds. 


1902 

Rounds 

Jan. 

17 

Frank  Childs    - 

Draw 

Chicago    - 

-     6 

Dan  Murphy 

Knockout 

10 

- 

Ed  Johnson    - 

Knockout 

.       . 

-     4 

Mar. 

7 

Joe  Kennedy 

Knockout 

Oakland 

4 

Mar. 

15 

Joe  Kennedy    - 

KnocKOut 

.San   Francisco 

-      4 

- 

Bob  White    - 

Won 

.        .       . 

-        15 

. 

- 

Jim  Scanlon    - 

Won 

.       .       .       . 

17 

May 

16 

Jack  Jefiries 

Knockout 

Los  Angeles 

5 

- 

Klondike    -     - 

Knockout 

.       . 

•      13 

- 

- 

Billy  stift     -       - 

Draw 

.       .       . 

10 

June 

20 

Hank  Griffin    - 

Draw 

Los  Angeles 

20 

. 

Hank  Griffin 

Draw 

Los  Angeles    - 

-    12 

- 

Pete  Everett   - 

Won 

-       - 

20 

Oct. 

21 

Frank  Childs 

Won 

Los  Anseles    - 

-    13 

Oct. 

31 

George  Gardiner 

Won 

San  Francisco 

20 

Dec. 

4 

Fred  Kussell    - 

Won 

Los  Angeles    • 

-      S 

1903 

Feb. 

5 

Denver  Ed  Martin  • 

Won 

Loa  Angeles 

20 

Feb. 

27 

Sam  McVey 

Won 

Los  Angeles    - 

-     20 

Apr. 

16 

Sandy  Ferguson 

Won 

Boston 

10 

May 

11 

Joe    Butler 

Knockout 

Philadelphia    - 

-      3 

July 

31 

Sandy  Ferguson 

No  decision 

Philadelphia 

6 

Oct. 

27 

Sam  McVey 

Won 

Los  Angeles    - 

-    20 

Dec. 

11 

Sandy  Ferguson 

Won 

Colma 

20 

1904 

Feb. 

15 

Black    Bill 

No  decision 

Philadelphia 

6 

Aijr. 

22 

Sam  McVey 

Knockout 

San  Francisco 

20 

June 

2 

Frank  Childs    - 

Won 

Chicago 

6 

Oct. 

18 

Ed  Martin    • 

Knockout 

Los  Angeles    - 

-      2 

Ml'K    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON. 


75 


JOHXSOX'S 

K£C'OICI>  Continued. 

lyo,") 

Roun 

ds. 

Mur. 

2S 

Marvin  Hart 

Lost 

San  Francisco    - 

20 

Apr. 

25 

Jim  Jeffords 

Knockout 

Pliiladelpliia  - 

4 

May 

2 

Black  Bill 

Won 

Pliiladelpbia 

4 

May 

9 

Joe  Jean iiette 

No  decision 

Pbiladelpbia  - 

3 

Miiy 

9 

Walter  Johnson 

Knockout 

Philadelpbia 

3 

June 

26 

Jack   .Munroe   - 

No  decision 

Pbiladelpbia  - 

6 

Ju/y 

13 

Morris  Harris 

Knockout 

Philadelptiia 

1 

July 

13 

Black  Bill  - 

No  decision 

Pliiladelpliia   - 

3 

July 

18 

Sandy  Ferguson    - 

Won  on  loul 

(^lelsea 

6 

July 

24 

Joe  Grim    - 

No  decision 

Pliiladelpliia 

6 

Nov. 

25 

Joe  Jean nette 

Lost  on  foul 

Pliiladelpliia 

2 

Deo. 

1 

Yu.  Peter  Jackaon 

Draw 

Baltimore 

12 

Dec. 

2 

Joe  Jean  nette 

No  decision 

Pliiladelpbia 

6 

1906 

Jan. 

16 

Joe  Jean  nette 

No  decision 

New   York     - 

3 

Mar. 

14 

Joe  Jeanneite    - 

Won 

Baltimore 

15 

Apr. 

26 

Sam  Lansford 

Won 

Cbelsea 

15 

Apr. 

19 

Black  Bill 

Knockout 

Will;e8barre 

7 

June 

18 

Cbarley  Hagliey    - 

Knockout 

Gloucester 

1 

Sept. 

3 

Billy  Dunning      - 

Draw 

Millinocket 

10 

^ept. 

20 

Joe  Jeannetie  - 

No  decision 

Pbilndelpbia    - 

-    6 

Nov. 

8 

Jim  Jeffords 

No  decision 

Pliiladelpliia 

6 

Nov. 

26 

Joe  Jeanneite  - 

Draw 

Portland 

10 

1907 

Feb. 

19 

J'eter  Felix   - 

Knockout 

Sidney,  A  us. 

1 

Mar. 

4 

J.  Lang 

Knoeuout 

Melbourne.  Aus. 

9 

July 

17 

Bob  Fitzsimmons 

Won 

Pbiladelpbia 

2 

Aus. 

28 

Cbarley  Cutler 

Knockout 

Reading    -       -       . 

1 

Sept. 

12 

Sailor  Burke 

No  decision 

Bridgeport   - 

6 

Nov. 

2 

Jim  Flynn 

Knockout 

t'olma       .       .       . 

11 

1908 

June 

Al  MoNamara 

Won 

Plymoutb 

4 

July 

31 

Ben  Taylor 

Knockout 

lOngland    - 

8 

Dev. 

26 

Tommy  Burns    - 

Won 

Australia 

14 

1909 

May 

19 

Vbil  jHCk  O'Brien 

No  decision 

PliilBdelphia   - 

6 

June 

30 

Tony  Koas 

No  decision 

Pittsburg 

6 

Sept. 

9 

Al   Kauflman 

No  decision 

San    Fran. 

10 

Oct. 

16 

Stanley    Kelcbell 

Knockout 

Col  ma 

12 

1910 

July 

4 

James  J.  Jeffries    - 

Knockout 

Reno.  Nev.      - 

15 

1912 

July 

4 

Jim  Flynn     - 

Won 

-    Lhs  Vegas 

9 

76       l.IFK    AND    HATTLK.S    f)F    JACK    JOHNSON. 

JAMES  J.  JEFFRIES. 

James  J.  Jeffries  was  born  in  Carroil,  Oiiio.  His  first  battle  of 
record  was  witn  T.  VanBuskirk,  whom  lie  knocked  out  in  two  rounds. 
He  beat  Peter  Jaeuson  in  three  rounds,  Tom  Sharkey  in  twenty  rounds, 
and  then  came  East  to  show  his  calibre.  He  was  a  failure,  ior  he  was 
billed  to  box  two  men  at  the  Lenox  Athletic  Club,  in  New  York.  Arm- 
strong and  Steve  O'Donnell.  He  beat  the  former  in  ten  rounds,  but 
claimed  he  had  hurt  his  hand  and  could  not  go  on  with  O'Donnell.  That 
was  on  August  5.  His  next  appearance  in  the  ring  was  when  be  gained 
the  title  by  knocking  out  Bob  Fitzsimmons.  He  won  again  in  the  same 
year  from  Tom  Sharkey  at  Coney  Island,  the  contest  going  the  limit,  but 
it  was  a  questionable  decision,  the  sailor  forcing  the  fight  all  the  way  and 
mixing  It  at  the  finish.  Many  of  the  leading  sporting  men  who  witnessed 
the  battle  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  should  have  been  a  draw  at  least. 

For  twenty-three  rounds  before  the  same  club,  on  May  11,  1900,  Cor- 
bett  made  Jeffries  look  like  a  novice,  punching  him  when  and  where 
he  pleased  without  a  return,  until  the  big  fellow  ended  matters  by  catch- 
ing the  ex-champion  on  the  jaw  with  a  left  hook  and  putting  him  down 
for  the  count. 

Jeffries  met  Hank  Griffln,  Joe  Kennedy  and  Gus  Ruhlin  in  1901 
taking  on  Old  Fitz  in  San  Francisco  on  July  25. 1902,  and  knocking  him> 
out  in  eight  rounds.  He  agreed  to  put  Jack  Munroe,  the  Butte  minen 
oul  in  four  rounds  at  Butte,  Mont.,  but  failed,  and  so  lost  the  decision. 

He  knocked  out  Corbett  in   ten   rounds  on  August  14,  1903,  in  San 
Francisco,  and  beat  Jack  Mu'rne  m  t'^'^same  city  the  year  following. 
RECORD. 
Born  1875,  Carroll,  Ohio.    Height  6  ft.  1!4  in.     Heavyweight.     White. 

1897:    Knockout— T.   VanBuskirk,   2  rounds.     Dick    Baker,  9  rounds. 

Draw— Gus  Ruhlin,  20  rounds.     Joe  Cnovnski,  20  rounds. 
1898;  Won— Joe  Goddard,   4   rounds.      Peter    Jackson.   3    rounds.   Pete 

Everett,  3  rounds.     Tom  Sharkey,  20  rounds.     Bob  Armstrong,  10 

rounds. 
1899:  Knockout— Bob  Fitzsimmons,  11  rounds.     Won— Tom  Sharkey, 

25  rounds. 
1900:  KnocKOut— Jack  Finnegan,  1  round.    Jim  Corbett,  23  rounds. 


1901 

Bounds 

Sept.    17 

Hank  Griffin 

Won 

Los  Angeles 

-       -    4 

Sept.    27 

Joe  Kennedy    - 

Knockout 

Los  Angeles   - 

2 

Nov.    15 

Gus  Ruhlin  - 

Won 

San  Francisco 

-    5 

1902 

July     25 

Bob  Fitzsimmons 

Knockout 

San  Francisco 

8 

Dec.     10 

Jack  Munroe 

Lost 

Butte  - 

4 

1903 

Aug.    14 

Jim  Corbett 

Knockout 

San  Francisco 

10 

1904 

AuK.    26 

Jack  Munroe 

Won 

San  Francisco 

-       -    2 

1910 

July      4 

Jack  Johnson    - 

-    Knockout  by 

Reno,  Nev.    • 

-       15 

LIFE    AND     BATTLES     OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        77 

JOHN    L.  SULLIVAN. 

They  rail  him  "The  Nolilest  Roman  of  Them  All."  And  it  i^n't 
without  reason,  either,  for  he  was  a  erent  man.  and  he  is  a  great  man. 
who  was  always  on  the  level.    His  popularity  « ill  never  fade  nor  wane. 

John  L.  Sullivan  was  born  on  October  15,  1853.  In  his  early  days  he 
nnpeared  in  many  boxing  contests  in  and  around  Boston,  where  he  soon 
I  ej.iriio  a  popular  favorite.  The  first  battle  which  brought  him  to  the 
n.Ticecfthe  seneral  public  was  with  Donaldson,  nt  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
S  i.livan  beat  him  easily,  but  the  loser  was  not  satwtied  and  challenged 
the  Boston  Strong  Boy  to  meet  him  with  hrd  uloves  for  $500  a  side. 
They  met  in  a  room  in  Cincinnati  on  December  28,  1881.  By  running 
awav  Donaldson  lasted  ten  rounds  before  he  was  knocked  out.  Later, 
wlien  Sullivan  came  to  New  York,  he  made  the  announcement  that  he 
would  give  any  man  in  the  world  $50  wlio  would  stand  up  against  him 
for  four  rounds.  The  first  man  to  try  for  the  money  was  Steve  Taylor, 
but  his  seconds  threw  up  the  "ponge  in  two  rounds. 

It  was  then  that  Mr.  Richard  K.  Fox  l^egan  to  taUe  an  interest  in 
pugilism,  and  he  expres.sei  his  willingness  to  back  Sullivan  or  anyone 
else  against  him  in  a  battle  for  the  championship  of  the  world.  Mr.  Fox 
oSered,  also,  to  have  made  a  valuab'e  and  handsome  belt  to  be  emblem- 
otic  of  the  title.  At  that  time  the  only  suitable  antagonist  for  Sullivan 
seemed  10  be  Paddy  Rynn,  It  didn't  take  very  long  to  arrange  matters, 
and  on  Octoher  5,  1881,  Sullivan's  representatives  were  in  the  Poi.rcic 
(iAZKTTE  cilice  and  the  match  was  made  for  ?2  .500  a  side,  to  be  held 
witliin  one  hundred  miles  of  New  Orleans,  Ln.,  on  February  7,  1882. 

The  figlit  WHS  held  at  Mississippi  Citvand  was  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era  in  i)Ugili<(m  in  America.  Over  15,000  persons  were  present  at  the 
ringside.  A  moment  before  tmie  was  culled,  William  II.  Harding,  then 
the  sporting  editor  ol  the  Police  (Gazette,  stepped  into  the  ring  and 
gave  Ryan  gl.OOO  presented  by  Richarl  K.  Fox.  with  which  to  bet  on 
himself.  Tne  bet  was  taken  and  the  monev  placed  in  the  hands  of 
Harry  Hill,  the  ofTicial  stakeholder.  Then  began  a  fight  that  made 
pugilistic  history,  anil  created  more  excitement  in  this  connt-y  than  e". 
of  the  other  pugilistic  battles  which  had  preceded  It.  The  contest  lasted 
nine  rounds  and  started  Sullivan  on  the  road  to  success. 

After  a  short  tour  in  which  be  met  all  comers,  agreeing  to  stop  ther> 
In  lour  rounds,  Sullivan,  at  a  benefit  In  Washington  Park,  New  York, 
July  4, 1882,  agreed  to  give  |5<X)  to  Jimmy  Elliott  ar^d  f250  tc  any  other 


78        LIFE    AND     BATTLES    OF     JACK    JOHNSON, 

man  wlio  would  last  four  tliree-minute  rounds  against  him.  No  one  but 
Elliott  appeared  to  claim  tbe  chance  to  make  a  little  change.  Elliott 
lasted  a  trifle  over  three  rounds.  In  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  round 
be  was  hit  so  hard  that  his  handlers  thought  he  had  been  killed. 

With  the  object  in  view  of  fostering  the  boxing  game  Richard  K.  Fox 
had  a  short  time  previous  sent  to  England  for  Jim  Collins,  better  known 
as  Tug  Wilson,  to  come  over  and  meet  Sullivan.  The  latter  refused  to 
make  a  match  with  him  until  he  had  first  had  a  hout  with  the  gloves,  so 
the  matter  was  arranged  and  Madison  Square  Garden,  New  York,  was 
secured  for  the  purpose,  on  the  evening  of  July  17, 1882.  The  occasion 
resulted  in  a  record-breaking  crowd.  Wilson  was  to  stay  four  thrie- 
minute  rounds,  and  if  be  succeeded  be  was  to  get  fl.OOOand  half  of  the 
gate  money.  By  not  standing  up  and  fighting,  and  falling  to  avoid 
punishment  whenever  tbe  opportunity  oQered,  and  by  taking  the  fu;l 
count  every  time,  Wilson  managed  to  stay  the  required  four  rounds  and 
won  the  money.  But  it  wasn't  a  fight,  by  any  means,  it  was  a  farce. 
After  this  aflair  Mr.  Fox  ofifered  to  back  Wilson  against  Sullivan  for 
J5.000  a  side,  but  the  champion  refused  to  even  consider  it. 

Sullivan's  next  contest  of  note  was  with  Charley  Mitchell,  the  boxing 
champion  of  Eng'and,  at  Madison  Square  Garden,  New  York.  May  4. 
1883.  Mitchell  was  quite  sure  he  could  stay  four  rounds  with  the  cham- 
pion. The  Boston  Boy  bad  the  Englishman  beaten  in  three  rounds 
when  he  fought  him  down  and  bad  fallen  on  top  of  him.  But  when 
Mitchell  got  to  his  feet,  apparently  dazed,  Captain  Williams  jumped  into 
the  ring  and  stopped  the  battle. 

As  in  the  case  of  Tug  Wilson  Sullivan  refused  to  meet  Mitchell  later 
in  a  twenty-four  foot  ring. 

After  this  fight  Mr.  Fox  sent  for  and  backed  Herbert  Slade,  the 
Maori,  who  was  then  in  New  Zealand  with  Jem  Mace.  The  men  met  at 
Madison  Square  Garden  on  August  6, 1883,  Sullivan  agreeing  to  put  t'.e 
Maori  away  inside  of  four  rounds.  He  bad  no  trouble  this  time,  as  three 
rounds  were  enough  for  the  New  Zealander. 

After  that  Sullivan  appeared  in  minor  contests,  meeting  such  men 
as  Dominick  McCaflfrey,  Patsey  Car  Jiff,  Alf  Greenfield  and  others. 

In  July.  1387,  Mr.  Fox  posted  §1,000  with  the  New  York  Clipper  to 
bind  a  match  between  Jake  Kilrain  and  Sullivan,  for  the  Police 
Gazette  diamond  belt.  |5.000  a  side  and  the  championship  of  Amerii'ii. 
but  Sullivan  refused  to  meet  ICilrain. 


LIFE    AND    BATTLES     OF    JACK     JOHNSON.        79 

On  November  23, 1888,  Sullivan  met  Paddy  Ryan  in  a  tour-round 
coniesl  lor  gate  money.    Ryan  was  knocked  out  in  the  third  round. 

Sullivan  and  Charley  Mitchell  met  at  Cliantilly,  France,  on  March 
10, 1886,  in  a  battle  for  $2,500  a  side,  under  the  rules  of  the  London  prize 
ring.  After  thirly-nine  rounds,  vvhicli  took  three  hours  and  eleven 
II  inutes,  the  battle  was  declared  a  draw  on  account  of  darkness. 

And  now  came  the  battle  for  the  largest  stake  ever  fought  for  up  to 
that  time,  $20,000  and  the  Police  Gazktte  diamond  belt.  It  was  pulled 
oft  at  Richhurg,  Miss.,  July  8, 1889,  Sullivan's  opponent  on  this  occasion 
was  Jake  Kllrain,  who  represented  the  Police  Gazette.  As  in  the 
case  of  Ryan,  Mr.  Fox  had  given  $1,000  to  Kilrain  to  bet  on  himself. 
Under  a  broiling  sun  the  men  fought  seventy-five  rounds,  Kilrain  tieing 
unable  to  appear  for  the  seventy-sixth. 

Sullivan's  Waterloo  came  in   the  ring  of  the  Olympic  Club,  New 

Orleans,  La.,  September  7,  1902,  when  he  met  James  J.  Corbett.    It  can 

be  told  in  a  few  words,  this  downfall  of  a  great  champion  who  had  held 

his  own  for  twelve  years.    For  twenty-one  rounds  he  stood  up  against 

youth  and  cleverness,  and  then  he  settled  down  on  ti:e  floor  of  the  ring, 

losing  a  purse  of  $25,000,  a  side  tiel  of  $10,000,  and   the  title,  but  not  his 

popularity, 

RECORD. 

Born  Oct.  15.   1858,  Boston,  Mass.    Height  5  ft.  10J|  In.     Heavyweight. 

Color,  wliite. 
1880:    Knockout— Oeorge   Rooke.  2  rounds.     J.  Donaldson.  10  rounds. 

Exliibition— Joe  Ooss,  3  rounds. 
1881 :  Won— Steve  Taylor,  2  roumls.    John  Flood,  8  rounds.    Knockout 

—Fred   Crossley,  1   round.     James  Dalton,  4  rounds.    Jack   Burns,  2 

rounds. 
1882:  Won— Paddy  Ryan,  9  rounds.  John  McDermott,  3  rounds.   Knock- 
out—Jimmy  Klliott,  3  rounds.     K.xhihilion- Tug  Collins,  4    rounds. 

Joe  Cohurn. 
1883:  Won— Charlie  Mitchell,  3  rounris.     Herbert  A.  Slade,  3  rounds. 
1884  :  Won— Fred    Rohinson,  3  rounds,     (ieorge   M.  Robinson,  4   rounds. 

Rnos  Pliillips.  4  rounds,     .lohn  M.  Ladin,  3   rounds.      Alf    Oreenlield, 

2  rounds.  KnocKOUt— Al  Marx,  1  round.  i)an  Henry,  3  round.  William 

Fleming,  1  round. 
1885:  Won— Alf  Oreentield.  4  rounds.    Jack    BurUe,  5  rounds.     Dom. 

McCaftrev,  6  rounds.    Police  Interlerence— Paddv  Ryan. 

1888  "  Rounds 

Sept.    18    Frank   Herald 
Nov.    13    Paddy  Ryan 
Dec.     28    Duncan  McDonald 

1887 
Jan.     18    Patsy  Cardifi 

Mar.    10    Charley  Mitchell 

18H9 
July      8    Jake  Kilrain 

1892 
Sept.     7    Jim  Cortiett 

1896 
Aug.    31    Tom  Sbarkey 


Won 
KnocKout 
Draw 

Allegheny 

San  F'randsco     - 

Denver,  Col.    - 

4 

Draw 

Minneapolis 

6 

Draw 

<'hantilly.  France 

39 

Won 

Richbiirg 

7.-. 

Lost 

New  Orleans 

21 

No  Decision 

New  York 

3 

So       LIFE    AND    liAi  TLES     OF     JACK    JOHNSON. 

JAMES  J.  CORBETT. 

James  J.  Corbett  was  horn  in  California  September  1, 1866,  and  \i 
tnenty-six  years  old  wlien  he  became  champion  of  America  by  l.eatim^ 
Sullivan.  His  first  battle  of  any  note  wag  with  David  Kiseman  wlien  he 
was  eighteen  years  of  a:je.  He  won  in  two  rounds.  Tl.en  he  met  James 
Dailey,  whom  he  beat  in  four  rounds.  He  bested  Buffa'o  Costello  and 
Duncan  McDonald,  but  his  first  important  contest  was  with  Joe  Choynsui 
on  a  barse  in  the  middle  of  the  Sacramento  Kiver.  Tiiey  fought  with 
small  gloves,  and  it  is  said  that  more  money  was  wagered  on  this  fisht 
than  on  any  that  ever  took  place  in  California.  ChoynsUi  was  out-clai?sed 
and  was  beaten  in  twenty-seven  roumls.  Corbett  did  not  come  into  sen- 
eral  public  notice,  however,  until  he  met  Jake  Kiirain  in  a  six-round 
contest  at  New  Orleans.  After  that  he  bestPd  Dominick  McCafirey  easily, 
Returning  to  the  Coast  he  made  a  match  with  Peter  Jackson  for  a  puree 
of  $10,000.  Jackson  was  the  favorite,  and  the  California  Club  officials 
stopped  tiie  battle  at  the  end  of  the  sixty-first  round  with  a  decision  of  a 
draw. 

After  a  successful  theatrical  tour  he  met  Charlie  Mitchell  in  1894  at 
Jacksonville,  Fla.  It  was  a  short,  sharp,  fierce  battle,  Corl.ett  knocking 
the  Englishman  cold  in  three  rounds. 

He  fought  Tom  Sharkey  a  four  round  draw  in  San  Francisco,  and 
then  on  March  17,  1897,  he  went  down  to  defeat  at  Carson  City,  Nev., 
before  Bob  Fitzsimmons.  The  battle  lasted  fourteen  rounds,  and  a 
punoli  on  the  solar  plexus  made  the  Australian  champion  of  the  world. 

On  November  22,  1898.  he  met  Tom  Sharkey  in  New  York  for  the 
second  time,  and  was  heins;  beaten  by  the  rugged  sailor  wlien  McVey, 
one  of  Corbett 's  seconds,  jumped  into  the  i  in;,  and  Sharkey  was  awarded 
t:je  fight  on  a  foul. 

Corbett  and  McCoy  met  in  Madison  Square  Garden  on  August  30, 
1900,  and  McCoy  was  knocked  out  in  five  rounds,  Jt  has  always  been 
claimed  that  this  contest  was  prearranged,  and  that  those  who  were  in 
right"  knew  in  advance  what  the  outcome  would  be. 

RECORD. 
Born  Sept.  1, 1866,  San  Francisco,  Cal.    Height,  6  ft.  1  in.   Heavyweight. 

Color,  white, 
1886:    Knockout— Billy  Welch,  1  round.     Lost  — Billy  Welch,  4  rounds. 
1887:  Draw— Jack  Burke,  8  rounds. 
1888:  Draw— Frank  Glover,  3  rounds. 


LIFE     AND     BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        gl 

CORBETT'S  RECORD-Contiiined. 

1889:  Won— J(ie  Clioynski,  4  rounds.  Knockout— Joe  Cliovnski,  27 
rounds.  Draw— Dave  Campbell,  10  rounds.  Police  interference— Joe 
Clioynski,  4  rounds. 

1890:  Won— Jake  Kilrain,  6  rounds.  Dom.  McCaflrey,  4  rounds.  Ex- 
liibilinn— Mike  Donovan,  3  rounds. 

1891 :  Won— Ei.  Kinney.  4  rounds.  Draw— Peter  Jackson,  61  rounds, 
Exbibition,  Jobn  L.  Sullivan,  4  rounds.    Jim  Hall.  4  rounds. 

1892:  Won— Bill  Spillings.  1  round.  Bob  Caffrey,  1  round.  John  L.  Sul- 
livan. 21  rounds.    No  decision— Joe  Lannon. 

1894:  Knockout— Cbarlie  Mitchell,  3  rounds.    Peter  Courtney,  6  rounds 

1896  •  Draw— Thomas  Sliarkey,  4  rounds. 


1897 

Round;; 

Mar.    17 

Bob  Fitzsimmons 

Lost 

Carson 

14 

1898 

Nov.   22 

Tom  Sharkey 

Lost  on  Foul 

New  York     - 

9 

1900 

May    U 

Jim  Jeffries 

Knocked  out  by 

Coney  Island 

23 

A'lg.    30 

Ki  1  McCoy     - 

Knockout 

New  Yoriv 

5 

19()3 

Au^'.    14 

Jim  Jeffries 

Knocked  out  by 

San  Francisco 

10 

82       LIFE    AND    BATTLES     OF     JACK    JOHNSON. 

ROBERT  FITZSIMMONS. 

Robert  Fitzsjmmons,  when  he  met  Corbett,  fought  for  the  Champion, 
ship  of  the  World,  and  it  was  so  speciflei  in  the  articles  of  agreement- 
He  was  the  Champion  of  Australia,  and  the  English  title  at  that  time 
WHS  divided  between  Peter  Jackson,  Jem  Smith,  Slavln  and  Charley 
Mitchell,  80  that  in  winning  from  Corbett  he  really  became  the  tirst 
champion  of  the^world.  He  was  born  in  Cornwall,  England,  June  4. 
1862.  Ijut  spent  most  of  his  early  life  in  Australia.  He  was  a  born  fighter, 
so  tiiat  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  learn  the  science  of  the  game. 

When  Jem  Mace  reached  the  town  of  Timaru  with  his  troupe  of 
boxers,  Fitz  presented  himself  as  a  candidate  for  tistic  honors  and  knocked 
out  four  of  Mace's  men  in  one  night.  That  whs  his  beginning.  A  year 
later  the  young  blacksmith  met  allcomers  at  Mace's  second  visit,  and  put 
five  men  away  ofl  the  reel,  even  offering  to  fight  Mace  tiimself.  After  a 
few  battles  he  wentto  Sydney,  where  he  added  to  his  reputation  by  knocK- 
ing  out  half  a  dozen  men.  It  was  there  that  he  was  beaten  by  Jim  Hall,  but 
there  is  a  question  as  to  whether  or  not  that  go  was  on  the  level.  The 
money  he  got  out  of  that  contest  brought  him  to  America. 

His  first  fight  in  this  country  was  with  Frank  Allen,  in  San  Francisco, 
who  quit  with  his  wrist  broken.  After  demonstrating  his  superiority,  he 
decided  to  go  after  Jack  Dempsey,  the  Nonpareil.  The  match  was  made 
the  Olympic  Club  of  New  Orleans  getting  it,  and  the  men  met  on  Januflry 
14.  1891.  At  that  time  Dempsey  was  the  holder  of  the  middleweight 
championship  belt  which  had  been  presented  to  him  by  Richard  K.  Fo.v. 
It  was  an  historic  battle  and  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention.  Although 
Dempsey  was  an  overwhelming  favorite,  Fitzsimmons  beat  him  unmer- 
cifully, and  knocked  him  out  in  the  thirteenth  round,  after  begging  him 
to  quit,  gaining  the  middleweight  championship. 

Then  arrived  on  the  scene  Peter  Maher.  "Champion  of  Ireland.  ' 
The  Olympic  Club  of  Nca-  Orleans  got  the  bout  for  a  $10,000  purse,  and 
the  men  met  on  March  2, 1892.  It  looked  like  a  good  fight  for  a  while 
but  Fitz  Bhowed  his  superiority  and  Maher  quit  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
round.  Then,  on  March  8,  1893,  came  his  fight  with  his  old  opponent' 
Jim  Hall,  of  Australia.  It  was  held  in  tbe  arena  of  the  Crescent  City 
Athletic  Club  of  New  Orleans.  Nearly  all  of  the  New  York  money  went 
on  HaH.  In  the  fourth  round  he  was  hit  flush  on  the  Jaw.  and  knocked 
out  so  thoroughly  that  it  was  twenty  minutes  before  be  revived,  acd 
many  thought  be  was  dead. 


LIFE     AND     BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.       gz 

His  next  important  battle  was  witli  Jos  Cljoynski  at  the  Boston 
f  Muss.)  Theatre,  June  17,  1894.  It  was  carded  to  ao  eiglit  rounds,  and  if, 
at  the  expiration  of  tliat  time,  both  men  were  on  their  feel,  it  was  to  be  a 
draw.  Choynski  was  badly  beaten  in  tlie  fifth  round,  only  the  call  of 
time  saving  him,  and  in  the  sixth  the  contest  was  so  one-sided  that  the 
police  interfered,  so  it  was  called  a  draw  anyhow. 

The  next  to  come  along  was  Dan  Creedon,  who  called  himself  mid- 
dleweight champion  of  Australia.  He  got  his  in  two  rounds  in  the 
OljmpicClub  of  New  Orleans  on  September  25,  1894,  and  it  was  five 
minutes  before  he  l<new  what  bit  him. 

Then  nesotiations  were  entered  into  with  William  Brady,  who  rep- 
resented Corbett,  with  the  object  in  vie  v  of  securinj^  a  match  nitti  the 
champion,  but  nothing  came  of  them.  Fitz  while  showing  at  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.,  accidentally  killed  Con  Kiordan,  his  sparring  partner,  but  at  the 
subsequent  trial  was  discharged. 

He  fought  Peter  Maher  at  Langtry,  Texas,  on  Febrnarj'  21,  1896,  and 
knocked  him  out  in  exactly  ninety-five  seconds. 

Fitzsimmons  met  Sharuey  at  the  Mechanic's  Pavilion,  San  Francisco, 
December  2,  1896.  Wyntt  Earp,  a  gun  man,  wiis  referee.  In  the  seventh 
round  Fitzsimmons  had  his  man  beaten.  In  the  eighth  round  he  upper- 
cut  him  and  sent  him  down  and  out.  Sharkey  tried  to  rise,  but  could 
not,  and  the  referee  gave  the  decision  to  the  sailor  amid  the  hisses  of  the 
crowd. 

There  was  a  contest  in  the  courts  over  the  payment  of  the  purse  of 
$10,000,  but  it  was  eventually  given  to  Siiarkey. 

For  the  second  time  articles  of  agieemeni  were  signed  between  Filz- 
sirtimonsandCorlaett.  who  were  to  fi^ht  for  the  title  und  the  Police  Gazette 
13,000  Diamond  Belt.  At  a  meeting  held  in  the  Police  Gazette  office, 
I  Dan  Stuart  was  present,  prepared  to  give  a  purse  of  $15  000  for  the  con- 
test. The  date  was  set  for  March  17,  1897,  ana  Mr.  Fox  was  selected  us 
stakeholder.  At  the  second  meeting  Cnrson  City,  Nev.,  was  named  as 
the  battle-ground.  The  result  bus  i.lready  been  told,  except  that  when 
Corbett  found  that  he  had  been  beaten  and  Fitzsimnjons  i  ad  received  the 
decision,  he  wanted  to  continue  the  battle.  Brady  was  wild  and  chall- 
enged Fiiz  to  meet  Corbett  again  for  $20,000  a  side,  but  the  crowd  didn't 
take  him  seriously. 

Fitz^immons  held  his  title  a  trifle  over  two  years,  and  then  he  was 
raaiched  to  meet  James  J.  Jeffries  on  June  9, 1899,  at  Coney  Island.  He 
I  ut  np  a  good,  gtime  battle,  but  the  bollermaker  was  too  heavy  for  film. 


84       ^AFK    AND     RATTI,ES  OF     JACK    JOHNSON. 


He  absorbed  punisLiment  lii^e  a  glutton,  and  in  ti.e  eleventh  round  Jed 
dropped  the  Australian  for  the  count  and  ended  his  championship  career. 
After  that  Fiiz  met  JefllThorne  in  Chicago,  and  put  him  away.  He 
also  heat  Jim  Daly;  knocked  out  El.  Dunkhorst  in  two  rounds;  Gus 
Rulilin  in  six  rounds;  and  then  got  square  with  Torij  Sharkey  I  y  putting 
him  away  in  tno  rounds  at  Coney  Island.  On  July  25,  1902,  he  fousht 
Jeffries  a  spcond  time  in  San  Francisco,  and  was  knocked  out  in  eii^lit 
ronnds.  His  last  light  was  witli  Philadelphia  Jacic  O'Brien  in  San 
Francisco.    He  lost  in  thirteen  rounds. 

RECORD. 

Bern  June  4, 1862,  Elston,  Cornwall,  England. 
1890:  Won— Billy  McCarthy,  9  rounds.    Knockout— Arthur   Upham.  5 

rounds.     Lost— Jim  Hall,  4  rounds. 
1891:    Won— Black   Pearl,    4    rounds.     Knockout— Jack    Dempsey.  13 

rounds.     Abe  Congle,  2  rounds. 
1892:  Won— Peter  Maher,  12  rounds.  Knockout— James  Farrell,  2  rounds. 
Joe  Godfrey,  1  round.    Jerry  Slattery,  2  rounds.     Millard  Zander,  1 
round. 
1893:  Won-  Jack   Hickey,  3  rounds.    Knoci<out— Jim   Hall.  4   rounds. 

Phil  Mayo,  2  rounds.    Warner,  1  round. 
1894:    Knockout- Frank    Kellar,   2   rounds.     Dan   Creedon,  2   rounds. 

Draw— Joe  Choynsici,  5  rounds. 
1896:  Knockout- Peter  Maher,  1   round.    No  decision— Peter  Malier,  3 

rounds.    Lost  on  Foul— Tom  Sharkey.  8  rounds. 
1897:  Won— James  J.  Corbett,  14  rounds. 

1899:  Knockout— Jeff  Tliorne,  1  round.    Knocked  out  by— Jim  Jeffries, 
11  rounds. 

Hounds 

Won  Philadelphia       -  1 

Knockout         Brooklyn         •       -        2 

■    Knockout         New  York    -       -  6 

Knockout         Coney  Island         -       2 


1900 
Mir.   27    Jim  Daly 
April  30    Ed.  Dunkhorst 
Aug.    10    Gus  Ruhlin 
Au^'.   24    Tom  Sharkey    • 

1902 
June   25    Jim  Jeffries  - 

1903 
Sent.    30    Con  Coughlin    • 
Ojf.      14    Joe  Grim 
N'lV.    25    George  Gardiner 

1904 
July    23    Phila  Jack  O'Brien 

1935 
Dec.    20    Phila  Jaclv  O'Brien 

1907 
July     17    Jack  Johnson   - 


Knocked  out  by    San  Francisco 


Knockout 

Piiilarelphia 

-    1 

No  decision 

Philadelphia  - 

C 

Won 

San  Francistc 

■     -- 

No  decision 

Philadelphia  - 

G 

Lost 

San  Franciscu 

-     j3 

Lost 

Philadelphia 

-        ? 

I.II-'K    AND     RATII.KS     OF    JACK    JOHNSON.      85 

TOMMY  BURNS. 

(NOAH  BRUSSO) 
Tommy  Bums  ia  the  man  who  picked  up  his  title  on  the  road.  He 
never  fought  for  it,  but  annexed  It  after  the  retirement  of  Jefifries.  He 
was  born  on  June  17, 1881,  at  Hanover,  Ont.,  and  his  first  battle  was  with 
Fred  Thornton,  whom  lie  linoclced  out  in  five  rounds.  He  did  tlie  tru-ic 
twice.  He  was  a  hard  worl^er  at  the  game,  fighting  ten  men  in  his 
second  year  out.  After  tie  had  become  a  self-stj'led  champion,  lie  went 
abroad  and  picked  up  a  lot  of  easy  marlcs,  knocicing  them  all  out,  one 
after  the  other.  Jack  Palmer,  Jem  Roche,  Jewey  Smith,  Bill  Squires 
and  Bill  Lang  all  went  down  before  him,  and  then  he  was  practically 
forced  to  make  a  match  with  Jacic  Johnson.  That  is  an  old  story  now, 
but  it  IS  a  well-known  fact  that  from  the  time  the  first  bell  rang  Burns 
never  had  a  look  in. 

RECORn. 
Born  June  17, 1881,  Hanover,  Ontario.      Height.  5  ft.  7  in.    Color  white. 
1900 :  Knocko:it— Fred  Thornton,  twice,  5  rounds  each. 
1901:  Knockout— Billy  Walsh,  5  rounds.    Archie  Steele,  2  rounds.    F.d. 

Sholtreau,  1   round.    Billy  Walsh,  6  rounds.    Dick  Snaith,  9  round". 

Reddy   Phillips,  9  rounds.     Jack  C'Donnell,  8  rounds.     Won— Dick 

Smith.  10  rounds.    Tom   McCune,  10  rounds.    Lost— Mike  Schreck,  10 

rounds. 


1903 

Rounds 

-     - 

• 

Jim   O'Brien 

Won 

Del  ray 

-     10 

Mar. 

26 

Dick  Smith 

Knockout 

Delray      - 

-        -        2 

Miir. 

2fi 

Reddy  Phillips     - 

Draw 

Del  ray 

-    3 

-     - 

Harry  Peppers 

Knockout 

Detroit     - 

2 

-     - 

Tom  McCune 

-    Knockout 

Detroit 

-    7 

-     - 

Jimmy  Duggan 

K nodi  out 

Hougliton 

9 

Oct. 

25 

Billy  Moore 

Won 

llougliton 

-  10 

-     - 

Jack   Hammond 

Knockout 

S.  Miirie   - 

3 

-     - 

,Tiic;;  Butler 

-    Kiiocicout 

s.  Mnrie 

-    2 

-     - 

Jack  O'Donnelf 

Knoci.out 

Kvan?to  1 

-       11 

Ben  O'GrHdy 

-     Knockout 

Detroit 

-    3 

1904 

Oeorge  Shroshrpc     - 

Knockout 

Ciiica:;o    - 

.5 

Feb. 

Mike  Schreck      - 

Draw 

Milwaukee 

•    6 

-     - 

Tony  Cnponi     - 

Draw 

Chicago    • 

6 

-     - 

Tony  Caponi 

Won 

Chicago 

•       .    6 

86       I-IFE     AXD    BATTLES     OF     JACK    JOHNSON. 


BUKSS' 

KECORD— Coiitiiined. 

1904 

Bounds 

-     - 

- 

Joe  Wardinski 

Knockout 

Salt  Lake 

1 

Au-. 

20 

Cyclone  Kelly 

-    Knockout 

Tiicoma 

.    4 

Sept. 

16 

Billy  Woods      - 

Draw 

Seattle      - 

-      15 

Oct. 

7 

Jack  O'Brien 

Lost 

Milwaukee 

-    6 

Dec. 

Indian  Joe 

Knockout 

Ballard     - 

6 

1905 

Mar. 

7 

Jack  Sullivan 

Draw 

Spokane    - 

-    20 

Mny 

3 

Dave  Barry 

Won 

Tacoma 

20 

June 

7 

Hugo  Kelly 

Draw 

Detroit 

-    10 

Ju'.y 

28 

Hugo  Kellv 

Draw 

Los  Angeles 

20 

Aug. 

31 

Dave  Barry 

-    Knockout 

San  Francisco 

-    20 

Oct. 

17 

Jack  Sullivan 

Lost 

Los  Angeles 

20 

1906 

Feb. 

23 

Marvin  Hart 

Won 

Los  Angeles 

-    20 

Mar. 

28 

Jim  O'Brien 

Knockout 

San  Diego 

1 

Mar. 

28 

Jim  Walker  - 

-    Knockout 

San  Diego 

-    1 

Get. 

2 

Jim  Flynn 

Knockout 

Los  Angeles    - 

-      15 

Kov. 

28 

Phila  Jack  O'Br 

en     -           Draw 

Los  Angeles 

-20 

1907 

Jan. 

10 

Joe  Grim    - 

No  decision 

Philadelphia 

3 

May 

8 

Jack  O'Brien 

Won 

Los  Angeles 

-  20 

July 

4 

Bill  Squires 

Knockout 

San  Francisco 

1 

Dec. 

2 

Gunner  Moir 

-    Knockout 

London 

-  10 

1908 

Feb. 

10 

Jack  Palmer     - 

Knockout 

London 

4 

Mar, 

17 

Jem  Roche    - 

-    Knockout 

Ireland 

-     1 

Apr. 

18 

Jewey  Smith     - 

Knockout 

France     - 

5 

June 

13 

Bill  Squires  - 

-    Knockout 

France 

-    8 

Aug. 

24 

Bill  Squires 

Knockout 

Australia 

-      13 

Sept, 

2 

Bill  Lang 

-    Knockout 

Australia    - 

-    6 

Dec. 

26 

Jack  Johnson 

Lost 

Australia 

-      14 

1910 

April 

U 

Bill  Lang 

Won 

Australia 

20 

LIFE    AND    BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON.        87 


PETER  JACKSON. 

Born  July  3,  1861.     Heiulit,  6  ft.  Y^  in.    Heavyweislit.    Color,  black. 

1882:    Draw— Jack   Hayes.      Knockout— Jack   Haye.s,  7  romids.      Sati 
Uriton,  20  minutes.     Mick  Dooley,  3  rounds. 


1884 
July     26     Bill  Farnaa 
-    ■    '    -    Bill  Farnan  • 

1886 
Sept,   25    Tom  Leea 


RouiuN 
Lost  Melljourne,  Aus.    -      3 

Draw  Melbourne,  Au.s.  6 

Won  Sydney,  Aus.         -    SO 


Aui,'.    24    George  Godfrey 
Dec.     27    Joe  WcAuliffe 


1889 
Apr. 

•May 

July 

July 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Oct. 


26  Patsy  Cardill     . 

1  Shorty  Kincaid    - 

U  Sailor  Brown    - 

30  MikeLyncli 

5  Paddy  Bren nan 

9  Ginger  McCoriuick 

19  Jack  Fallon 

.5  Alf  Mitcliell 

•  Jack  Partridge    - 

-  Jem  Young 
Jack  Watts  - 

•  Coddy  Meddings 

-  Alf  Ball 


Ocr. 

13 

Jack  Watson 

Nov. 

11 

Jera  Smith    - 

1890 

.Ian. 

27 

Jack  Ashton 

Mar. 

4 

Jack  Fallon 
Dick  Keating 

May 

19 

Ed  Smith      • 

.July 

23 

Tom  Jolinson 

Oct. 

21 

Joe  Goddard 

Won 

San  Francisco 

19 

Knockout 

San  Francisco    • 

21 

Won 

San  Francisco 

VI 

Won 

Virginia  City,  Nev. 

2 

Knockout 

Chicago   - 

4 

Won 

Bufifalo 

2 

Won 

Buflalo    - 

1 

Knockout 

Hoboken     - 

2 

Won 

Neiv  York 

4 

Won 

London 

3 

Won 

I^ondon    - 

.5 

Won 

London 

S 

Won 

London    - 

3 

Won 

London 

3 

Won 

London    - 

3 

Won 

Lofulon    - 

3 

Won 

London 

- 

No  decision 

Brooklyn 

3 

Knockout 

Williamsburg     - 

2 

Knockout 

Louisville 

I 

Won 

Chicago 

5 

Won 

MaiysvillP.  Cal.     - 

- 

Draw 

Melbourne,  Auh. 

8 

88       LIFE   AND  BATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSON 

JACKSODT'Si  RECORD-Continned. 

1891  KouiKls 

Jlay  21  Jim  Corbetl        -        -  Draw  Shu  Francisco  -         61 

1892 

Jan.  12  Al  Fisli    -       -       -  Won  riiicago       -       .       .       2 

Jan.  12  Jack  Dalton       -        -  Knockout  ChiCHSio     -        .  -         3 

May  30  Frank  Slavin        -  Knockout  London        -  -     10 

1893 

-  -  -   -  Jim  JeSries    -       -  Lost              San  Francisco  -  3 


JIM    FLYNN. 

(ANDKEW  CHIARIGLIONE.) 

Born  Dec.  24,  1879,  Brooklj-n,  N.  Y.  Height,  6  ft.  9>2  in.  Heavyweight, 
Italian-Americnn.     Color,  White. 

1901:  Knockout— Chambers,  4  rouncis.  Ed  Seaman,  4  rounds.  Ray  Condy, 
2rounif8.  Won  — Fred  Davis,  6  rounds.  Pat  Malloy,  6  rounds.  Fred 
France,  6  rouiKls.     Kid  Dawson,  3  rouiids. 

1902:  Knorkoul— Jack  Lavell.  2  rounds.  Georstp  Condie,  2  rounds.  Joe 
Tracy,  15  rounds.  Biirnt'y  Passow,  12  rouncJs.  Ed  Burns,  11  rounds. 
Jack  Graham,  7  rounds.  Won  — W^illard  Bean,  20  rounds.  Won-toul  — 
Jack  Graham,  5  rounds.  Draw— Joe  Cotton,  20  rounds.  Dummy 
Rowan,  20  rounds. 

1903:  KnocKout— Wm.  JJalloy,  20  ro'inds.  Kid  Rowley,  2  rounds.  Austin 
Yale.  7  rounds.  Eddie  Kellv,  20  rounds.  Lost— Jtck  Root,  8  rounds. 
Draw— Tom  Kinslev,  15  rounds.     Tom  Kinsley,  20  rounds. 

1904:  KnotKOUt— Tom  Kissile,  3  rounds.  Ed  ilcCoy,  3  rounds.  Tim 
Hurley,  6  rounds.  Ed  coolev,  8  rounds.  Ed  Cooley.6  rounds,  ^\■on  — 
Cyclone  Kelly,  20  rounds.  Won-foul— Tim  Hurley,  7  rounds.  Draw- 
Andy  Walsli,  20  rounds.  Harry  Peppers,  10  rounr.s.  Morgan  Williams, 
20  rounds.    Tommy  Rilev,  20  rounds.    Geortie  Gardiner.  10  rounds. 

1905:  Knockout- Mor<;an  Williams,  4  rounds.  Dummy  Rowan,  4  rounds. 
Jimmy  Rowan,  6  rounds.  Andy  Malloy,  2  rounds.  Draw— Tom  Riley, 
10  rounds. 

1906:  Knocke  i  out  by— Tommy  Burns,  15  rounds.  Draw— Jack  (Twin) 
Sullivan,  20  rounds. 

1907:  Knockout- Georue  Gardiner,  18  rounds.  Dave  Barry,  7  rounds. 
Bill  Squires,  6  rounds.  Knocked  out  by- Jack  Jolinson,  11  rouncis. 
Won— Jack  (T^.in)  Sullivun,  20  rounds.  Won-foul— Tony  Ross.  18 
rounds.    Draw— Jack  (Tnin)  Suli van,  20  rounds. 

1908:  Knocked  out  hy— Al  Kauflman,  9  rounds.  Sam  LauL'ford.l  round. 
Draw— Jim  Barry,  10  rounds.  No  decision— J.  (Twin)  Sullivan,  lo 
rouiiiis.  Jim  Barry,  10  rounds.  Batilins  Jolinson,  10  rounds.  Won  — 
Ralilini;  Johnson,  10  rounds.     Battling  Johnson,  10  rounds. 


LIFE   AND   RATTLES    OF    JACK    JOHNSOX 


FtYNX'S 

R  e  C  O  R  D  -  Continued. 

1909 

Rounds 

Mar.  19 

Billy  Papke 

No  decision 

Los  Angeles    - 

-     -    10 

June   1 

Mont.  Jack  Sullivan  -  No  decision 

Los  Anseles 

-      10 

July  14 

Billy  Papke 

No  decision 

Los  Angeles 

-    10 

July  30 

Phil.  Jack  O'Brien 

-    No  decision 

Denver      - 

6 

sept.22 

Bill  Petlus 

Won 

Pueblo 

-      10 

Oct.  30 

Jack  Burns 

-     No  decision 

Los  Angeles 

10 

Dec.  31 

Joe  Willia 

Knockout 

Los  Angeles 

-      10 

1910 

Feb.     8 

Sam  Langforii 

No  decision 

Los  Angeles 

-      10 

Mar.  17 

Sam  Langlord 

Knocked  out  by 

Los  Angeles 

8 

1911 

Jan.    2 

Tony  Capon i 

Won 

Los  Angeles 

9 

Mar.  28 

Al  Mindino 

Knockout 

Muskouefl 

4 

May    5 

Al   Kauflmari 

Knockout 

Kansas  City     - 

-       10 

Sept.  15 

Carl  Morris     - 

Won 

New  York 

-       10 

Nov.  20 

Cliarley  Sclniiidt    - 

Draw 

Fort  Wortii      - 

4 

Dec.  27 

Tony  Caponi 

Knoci;out 

Salt  Lake  City 

3 

1912 

Jan.  18 

Al  Williams 

-      Knockout 

Toronto    - 

2 

July    4 

Jack  Juhnson 

Lost 

Laa  VegHs    - 

9 

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